About three months ago my daughter asked if she could hang a bulletin board in her room. It quickly became a repository for all sorts of odds and ends. Clippings from magazines, notes from her friends, and sticky notes that contain some sort of cryptic code that only she knows. One note in particular caught my eye. It was a handwritten letter from one of her friends. Now, keep in mind my daughter is in 5th grade. And 5th graders are, well, prone to gigantic emotionalism. I needed to frame this for you because the ending of the note said:
“We are closer than sisters. You’re my best friend! I would die for you!!!”
I read it and thought, “Whoa! Emotional much?” I remember having some close friends in fifth grade. But death? Umm… not so much. I chuckled and forgot about it.
A few days later though I was driving and I thought of the silliness of that note. And then I realized the profoundness of it. Not so much my daughters friend, but what the Bible says about this topic.
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13 (NLT)
Jesus goes on to call His disciples his friends. Then, a few hours later, He lays down His life out of His love for them (and us).
Maybe my daughter’s friend understood something that I need to more fully understand…
This is my command: Love each other. John 15:17 (NLT)
Til next time,
DP