Are You Willing?
by Jim Person
Recently a friend of mine, who’s a military veteran, wrote a letter describing the honour he received during a school production. He described how he, and other veterans, along with active military, were recognised for their service to their country.
In his letter he described the feelings he and the other veterans had when they remembered the men and women who didn’t make it back, but gave their lives in defence of their nation. They never thought they’d been called to lay down their life, but yet they were willing to go into battle to fight for the freedom others would enjoy.
They stood together, humble heroes, able to read each other’s hearts because of the difficulties they’d been through. They’d become family - brothers and sisters, stretched, bent, and challenged, but never broken. Standing together, they realised they’d do it all again for the sake of freedom.
Are we willing to lay our lives down for others? If called, would we step up and stand with our brothers and sisters in Christ? We need to be willing to go through the difficulties that face us, and to stand for our faith, even to the act of laying down our lives, so others may live. There are many ways to lay one’s life down for others - through service, sacrificial giving, as a missionary, or, ultimately, as a martyr.
Jesus willingly laid His life down for you and me. He gave it so we could have life. My brothers and sisters, we need to be willing to give our lives for Him. I want to ask you a question. Are you holding back from giving your whole life to the one who gave His for you? Choose today to be willing.
Prayer: Lord, I hear of others laying down their lives for You, and I want to ask You for strength, so that when You ask me to lay mine down, I won’t hesitate. Help me to have that greater love in me, so I’m able to lay down my life for my brothers and sisters! Thank You, Lord. Amen.
Jim Person Jim grew up in Alaska and from a small child commercial fished every summer with his family. God called him, his wife Tanya, and their four children to move to Hungary as missionaries in 2003. God then led him to join Ellel Ministries in 2005. After serving in various positions with Ellel in Central and Eastern Europe, God led them back to the United States, where he is now serving with the Ellel USA team. Jim and Tanya have a passion to see leaders restored, the church discipled and walking in God’s fullness of life and freedom. They also love mentoring the existing and developing Ellel teams wherever God leads them. Jim also has a real gift for working with the land to create a beautiful and welcoming environment.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
