Thursdays Word-No Greater Love NO GREATER LOVE John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” There were two boys, John and James, that grew up next door together. These young men were inseparable; spending nights with each other, playing ball on the same teams and even took the same classes. Most people thought they were brothers. When one of their parents would go away for a vacation, the other’s parents would care for the child like their own. As they started high school, both went out for the football team and excelled greatly. John was the all-star quarterback and James was the all-star receiver. They set all kinds of records and seemed to be going to the same college. While playing in the championship game, the team was down by five points. John would have to guide his team to a touchdown in order to win the game. With the ball on their 35 yard line, John threw a pass to his favorite target and down the field he went. James had reached the 10 yard line before he was stopped with five seconds left in the game. Everyone knew the pass would be going to James on a fade and the opposing coach put two defenders on him. Days before, James and John decided to practice a play if this would happen; having James peel off and John with throw a bullet to him for the score. As John barked the call, he signaled to James to run the route practice and it worked to perfection. James scored the winning touchdown and the championship was theirs. After the game, both young men were walking out and James’ girlfriend was waiting on him. They had always rode home together after every game, win or loss, but tonight James would ride with his girlfriend. “Man, go ahead and ride with her, I will see you tomorrow.” “Are you sure, I know we normally ride together, I can tell her to meet me at the house”, James replied. “Nah, go ahead…I will see you later…have fun”, John said. The next morning, John slept in a little later than normal, but when he got up he didn’t hear his parents talk or congratulate him about the game. At the breakfast table, they both had a somber look on their faces. As they greeted each other, they waited until he sat down to break the news to him that James was in the hospital. According to the reports, James and his girlfriend were driving down the road and were hit head on by another vehicle. Fortunately, all three people were alive, but James will need a blood transfusion and a kidney transplant. John told his parents whatever he has to do to help his friend, he is willing to do. The parents knew that he would say this and explained to him what it would entail. As God would have it, John and James were a perfect match for everything and with his parent’s consent, he was headed to the hospital for surgery. Before he went to surgery, John had written two letters, one to his parents and one to James. He told them not to open it until the surgery was over. The surgery was a success and James was in the recovery room, but John was having complications. The doctors didn’t know what was going on but were trying to do everything possible to save him. After four hours of trying to save John, there was nothing the doctors could do. After the funeral, James went to visit John’s parents to talk about John’s life. All three of them had forgotten about the letter John had written them, so they decided to read them while sitting in the house. To their surprise, it was the same letter for all of them. “Dear Mom, Dad, and James, By the time you read this, I maybe here or I may be gone to be with the Lord. You see, I had went to a meeting a couple of weeks ago and I meet a man that could help me through my life’s problems. I was told that with Him all things were possible and if I gave my life to Him, I would have eternal life. That day and meeting changed my life, forever. I accepted Christ as my Savior and I haven’t looked back since. One thing I was taught is that He gave his life to save ours…and when you both told me about James and the accident, I knew what I had to do to save his life.James, I love you like a brother. We have done everything together and my decision was very selfish, but needed. Had I not given you a chance to live, you would be eternally dead. With Christ, I may be absent from you in the physical, but I am with Him in spirit. The only way you will be able to see me again is if you give your life to Him. I couldn’t have my friend and brother not to have a chance to experience the love I have through Christ. So I gave myself so you can have your chance to experience it.I hope to see you all again on that great day…I love you John” Imagine if you will that Jesus had heard the news of the world being hit head on by sin and we were in need of a transfusion. He asked His father what do I need to do to save the world and his father told him everything that he would have to go through. Even after hearing it all, He decided to go through with it. He decided to give up His life so that we could have a chance to experience the love God has for us. If you haven’t received Jesus as your personal Savior, you still have time. He has done the hard work. If you have, pass on to someone that hasn’t and express the love that Jesus has for us. God Bless. Work Your Faith
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 15:47:07 +0000
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