For whom would you die? How about your wife or husband? Maybe the kids, particularly if they’re in danger?
Would I step forward in time of war and attrition to shout “Shoot me!” so that neighbour might escape to safety, even if he’s one of those from hell?
Given the opportunity, would you or I have been another Maximilian Kolbe, the Polish friar in Auschwitz who volunteered to die in place of a fear-filled stranger?
Let’s stretch it a bit further. How about the neighbourhood paedophile? How about dying for him? What about Moors murderer Ian Brady or the Yorkshire Ripper? Would you give your life to save a down-at-heel politician or a banker dying from acute bonus-itis?
Or what about that self-righteous hypocrite at work, the one who knows it all, does it all perfectly, goes to church and wears his halo on weekdays.
Most times you want to throttle him but, if push came to shove, might you allow somebody strangle you in his place?
Okay, we’re getting ridiculous and the Easter weekend DIY’s awaiting your eager attention.
To finish: we can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice.
But this weekend, not that many life times ago, God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him (Romans 5:6,7).
Now that’s love.
Happy Easter!
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