People express their love in many ways; some people kiss to express their love; some give flowers to show their love, some give their dearest treasure for the sake of love; some give other gifts such as money, cars, phones, etc. in the name of love; some people have committed heinous crimes for others in the name of love; some have claimed responsibility for crimes they did not commit for the sake of love; some are indebted because they borrowed money to help a loved one out; etc. Since love is displayed in many ways, it is not far-fetched for someone to ask what the greatest way to display love is.
We find an answer in the teachings of Jesus. During the last supper, while Jesus and His disciples were at the table eating, and knowing that His time to die was at hand, He fervently taught his disciples and this is one of the things He said,
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).
We learn from His teachings in John 15:13 that the greatest display of love is to die to save your loved one. Said differently, the one who died to save another has demonstrated a greater love. We have heard stories in which people have gone to the extent of dying to save others out of love. And this sort of sacrifice is the greatest display of love.
History has examples of people who have died to save others. However, sometimes, some of these sacrifices happen by accident. That is, some people, in an attempt to save others, lose their own lives. In one story that was on the news, a mother and son were in the house in the early hours of the morning, sleeping, when a gunman broke in. The woman, hearing that someone had got into the house, woke up and got out of her bedroom to see who it was. Then the gunman fired at her. She was hit, wounded, and bleeding, but managed to crawl back into her bedroom. The gunman kept shooting.
When her son heard the noise, he got up, and in an attempt to go to his mother’s aid, he ran straight into flying bullets and was hit too. Though shot, the boy managed to lay his hands on a cell phone and called the police for help. Eventually, the boy died from excessive bleeding but because of his intervention, the gunman could not complete his mission of killing his mother. The woman survived after hospitalization. Though the boy was a hero and, through him, his mother had been saved, it was not his intention to die. It happened by accident. Some people too have drowned to death in an attempt to save others who were drowning. Though they died to save others, making them heroes, it was not their intention to die – it was an accident.
However, some individuals love to the extent that they would do anything good to save those they love. Some individuals intentionally put their lives on the line to save others. Jesus’ death on the cross was one such example. He loved us so much that He laid down His life for us. The difference between other heroes and Jesus was that Jesus intentionally and willingly allowed His enemies to kill Him so that we would be saved. Jesus had enough power to make Himself impossible to be arrested, tried, tortured, and crucified. Yet He did nothing to help Himself. Rather, He remained silent to His defense and looked on for the enemies to do whatever they wanted to do, knowing that He was dying to save mankind.