I LAY "ME" DOWN

 Hey there! How have you been since the last time we spoke? I hope you're fine.

So, today I was only going to come in here to say "hi and bye" but yesterday I saw something that I decided to share. I was reading Sparks & Embers by Brooke St James and there was a conversation there that really was interesting for me. It was a conversation on John 15:13. The verse itself goes "Greater love has no man than this, that a man should lay his life for his friends." Alex was saying that he had read that verse over and again and he always, like I did too, associated to literally having to die for his friends. Now, I'm not saying that literally interpreting this verse is wrong but there was something Alex said he understood from that verse that actually helped me gain understanding. He did not have to wait until the time came for him to literally die, he could lay down his life in other ways too; when he decided to do a job for free, he was laying down a bit of his life for the person, when he gave someone money, he was laying down a little bit of his life for them, when he went out of his way, or even not out of his way, to help someone, he was laying down another bit of his life for them.... So essentially, he didn't have to wait to do dramatic things before he would have laid down his life for others.

Of course that got my wheels turning! Because, I always thought the laying down of my life had to be somewhat like Jesus did when He died for me, but now I know better, so rather than wait until, if at all, I am asked to die for my friends and/or those I love, I can fall into the habit of laying my life down for those around me in the little ways that may or may not count. I have to begin to see acts of service as acts of love too; so any time I do something for someone, I'm showing them my love by laying a bit of my life -time, money, comfort etc., for them. 

And as I stopped to title this post (it's a line from a song I really love), I realized that it isn't just about my friends, it also applies with my relationship with God. I don't need to wait until there's a gun to my head or a blade to my throat before I lay my life for God. Laying my life for God is in the little, and big, acts of obedience; logging off social media when He tells me to, staying calm when I want to "give it back" to someone who has pissed me off -basically killing my wants so that His desires in my life prevail. I'm going to go ahead and admit that I haven't done the best job of that in recent times but I am going to work on yielding to God better.

As always, I invite you to join me on this journey of "laying down", whether it is with those around you or with God, be willing, as I now am, and ready, as I hope to always be, to lay yourself and your life down; it's the greatest demonstration of love after all! 

Let me be the first to wish you a blessed July! May our heart desires come to pass according to God's will! See you next week.

Love,

Achenyo.