Would you die for a good friend? A spouse? A child? I hope that the answer is yes, particularly when it comes to dying for a spouse or your own child. Why would we die for these people? Plain and simple–we love them so much that we would do anything for them, including “taking a bullet” for them, in order to protect them. I would die for my wife. I would die for my own children. I love them that much.
Now, what if someone came up to you and beat you up? What if this person clobbered you with a baseball bat, kicked you, spit on you, and slashed you with a knife? Would you die for a person who broke your ribs, cracked your skull, and left you in a pool of blood?
It’s not as easy to die for someone who treats us poorly as it is to die for someone who we love, is it? Yet, that is exactly what Jesus did! Jesus died for those Roman soldiers who whipped him, beat him, and spit on him. Jesus died for the Jewish people who called for his crucifixion. Jesus died for the people who called for and carried out his brutal execution. Why? Why did Jesus die for the people who mocked him and crucified him? He died for them out of love. He died for them that they may experience eternal life. He loved those who killed him so much—he wanted them to experience heaven so much—that he died for them.
Jesus died for you and me, too. It is so easy for us to say, “Yeah, yeah, I know, Jesus died for us.” We’ve been told that over and over again throughout our faith journey. We experience it every Lent. It’s easy for us to say that Jesus died for us without thinking much about it. But Jesus didn’t die for some collective “US”. He died for YOU! He died for ME! Jesus died for each and every one of us—INDIVIDUALLY. He died for that Roman soldier who nailed his wrist to a cross—not for Roman soldiers in general, but for that particular soldier who wielded the hammer. If that soldier were the only person on the planet, Jesus still would have died for him despite what the soldier was doing to him. He died for each of us individually because of his great and immense love for us.
We are still crucifying Christ. We are still beating him. We are still spitting on him. We are still driving nails into his wrists and feet. Each time we turn our back on him, each time we sin, we drive a nail deeper into the flesh of Jesus. And even though we keep crucifying Jesus with our sins, he continues to die for us. He died for us so that each of us might have eternal life. He loves us so much that he is willing to endure immense pain and suffering so that we may join him one day in heaven.
Which brings me back to my first question, who would you die for? Do you have so much love in your heart that you are willing to die for others, even others who mock you, who beat (whether physically or metaphorically)? Would you be willing to die for someone that you just plain don’t like? I’m not sure I would be able to. In fact, there are those that I know I wouldn’t die for. But that is what Jesus is asking us to do. The gospel of John says, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you should also love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:34-35). And how did Jesus love us? He loved us so completely and totally that he was willing to die for us, no matter how much we hurt him, no matter how much we sin. Jesus calls us to love others that much. He wants us to love others so much that we are willing to die for them, even for those who hurt us. I pray that someday I will have that much love in my heart.
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[LinkedIn]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/linkedin.png)
![[Reddit]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/reddit.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Technorati]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Twitter]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
First, I would like to think that I would die for my wife and my children. I believe I would die for my friends and my family. I could see dying for a stranger. It is harder to think of dying for one's enemies, and I could if I had the grace of God with me. Of course, I think that is probably true to die for anyone.