Serve. Love. Live.

I was talking to a friend about the bible the other day when I asked what one of her favorite passages of scripture was. She said the book of James. I said nothing. But I thought about the conversation a lot after that.

I don’t know about whole books, but I know that my favorite chapters of scripture are Psalm 13, Psalm 139, Isaiah 55, and Romans 12 (I actually just spoke about this chapter on the first night of worship at Candlestick 2015—a children’s camp in the mountains with Aberdeen First Baptist). I also know that some of my favorite passages are these:

From John Chapter 15. Jesus says: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command…Love each other.

From 1 John Chapter 4: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…

From Philippians 2: Let this same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness, and being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.

Put these three together and they profoundly influence my view of service, love, and life. Here’s how I figure it:

God’s love, shown most fully through the person of Jesus Christ—the Christ who loves us and calls us friend—is a sacrificial, humble love that seeks to serve and sacrifice on behalf of others. This is how God loves us and it should be how we love one another.

Just as Christ knew who he was and lived out of the fullness of his being, each of us should strive to know who we are so that we can live as most fully ourselves. In being ourselves, we are able to love one another by living selfless, sacrificial lives for those around us—wanting the best for each other—encouraging each other—sharpening and complementing each other—speaking each other’s love languages—and loving each other by laying down our lives for one another in service and in prayer. After all, greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends…and this doesn’t mean that we must physically die…rather, we can, every day, literally lay down our lives for one another in prayer.

My nephew currently loves rollers coasters. In fact, if he had to choose right now, then he would be a roller coaster designer for a career. Life is like a roller coaster. It moves. It changes. It twists and turns. Some days and experiences are joyful, others are sad. Some are easy, others are challenging. Some days we get things right, other days we get them miserably wrong.

But through it all—
through all the ups and downs—
love should be our guide—because in love, there is no fear.
Fear paralyzes.
Fear rears its ugly head and causes us to make more selfishly, desperate decisions than any of us ever want to make.
But love keeps us free.
Love teaches us to lean on Christ.
And Christ teaches us to live.

Amen.