Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
As presented on *The Lutheran Hour® by Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, March 1, 1959.
In a dungeon cell at the time of the French Revolution laid two men. Both happened to have the same name, because they were father and son. The father had been thrown into prison because he was suspected of complicity in the counter-revolutionary activities of his son. The son was under sentence of death for those activities.
When the time came for the son’s sentence to be carried out, his name was called out. With a gesture to the son to remain silent, the father rose and joined the armed guard prepared to lead him to the scaffold. Boldly he laid his head upon the block. The blade of the guillotine flashed, the father met his death, and his son’s name was checked off the list as having paid the supreme penalty.
The genuine Gospel of Christ teaches that a man is a sinner, a violator of God’s law, under sentence of death, condemned by his own transgression, and implicated in a situation which makes it impossible for him to save himself. The genuine Gospel of Christ teaches that Jesus came into the world to save sinners by taking the guilt of all humanity upon Himself, and by dying in the place of every sinner. There is only one hope of salvation. This hope is based upon the fact of Christ’s substitutionary death for all.
Let Christ’s sacrificial love control your life. It will help you to see other people as God sees them. Love will be apparent in your actions: It will be written all over your face.
Lord God, thank You for giving Your life to save me. Give me the power to love others and give myself to them. Amen.
Taken from A Message of Hope: Proclaiming the Cross (selections from messages broadcast on *The Lutheran Hour, celebrating 75 years of proclaiming the promise).
Copyright © 2006 by Lutheran Hour Ministries
*The Lutheran Hour is the longest-running Christian radio broadcast in the world. It is a production of Lutheran Hour Ministries. For more information, visit www.lutheranhour.org.
Today's Bible Readings: Joshua 19-21 Luke 11:29-54
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