Not greater love than he who lays down his life...

Probably the strongest emotion we possess is love. It defines who we are as humans and provides the foundation for everything that we do. It's power can blow us away, it's very infectious and no matter how much of it we give away we always have it in abundance. It is our greatest possession, the greatest gift we have been given and the best present we can give each other.

Soldiering is not thought of as an occupation connected to love but I found a passage in the Bible that threw that notion out of the window for me but at the same time captured the very essence of a soldier. "Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). When I read this two thoughts come to mind. Firstly, the love that servicemen have in their hearts that not only are they willing to lay down their lives for their friends but also for people they do not know. That is some powerful love.

Secondly, I got to thinking about Jesus giving up his life in such a horrific way just so our wrong doings could be forgiven. Now Jesus knew what needed to be done when he was condemned, he knew that he was going to die in total agony. He had chance after chance to get himself off the hook during his trial yet because of the love that filled his heart he chose to die to save us all. He took all of the sins that we commit, have committed and will commit to the cross with him and bore the pain so we wouldn't have to. To me, Jesus is the ultimate soldier and the greatest of heroes.

Also imagine how God's heart was breaking when he witnessed all of this. Of course, this had to happen to save us all but why would he go to the extreme of seeing his only son suffer so much for the sake of others. Because he loves us so much, that's why. He loves us so much that he gives us this unending supply of love to give to each other. He wants us to spread it around and give it away freely. It truly is the most precious gift we have. But because it is so precious we must protect it and ensure that it never dies. We must protect it like a soldier protects his medals. After all, love is the reward for our battle against sin won for us by the ultimate soldier.