Dying to Love

A call to love is a call to die.

We all pray and hope to see transformation in the lives of those around us. When thinking of how we can live our lives to see transformation happen we come across two different ideas in scripture – dying and loving.

To see transformation in our city, in our communities, in our families and in those we serve, we must die, so we may bear much fruit. But what does this dying look like? Surprisingly it looks like...love.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul gives us fifteen descriptions of what love is. What is striking is how each of them involves what Jesus called a dying to your life in this world.

To look at just a few...Being patient means dying to the desire for life going our way at our tempo. Having no jealousy means dying to the desire for unshared possession. Does not brag means dying to the desire to call attention to our accomplishments. Not acting unbecomingly means dying to the desire to express our ourselves offensively. Not seeking our own way means dying to the importance of our own preferences. Not being easily provoked means dying to the need for no irritations. Not taking account of wrongs means dying to the desire for revenge. Bearing all things and enduring all things means dying to the desire to avoid the hardship of obedience.

So, the question for us is: Are we willing to pay the price of love? Love at home, love at the workplace, love in our communities? Are we willing to sacrifice? As we look to Jesus and see His ultimate act of love - His death on the cross – we must ask ourselves: Are we willing to die to ourselves? If so, then His promise will surely come true: We will bear much fruit and see much transformation!