Is Love My Full-Time Pre-Occupation?

Passage of the day: 1 John 3:16-18

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (NIV)



Christ lived a life of love.  He lived to minister to the sick, to teach his disciples, to teach the people around him, and to spread the good news of God’s kingdom.  In the end, he sacrificed his life for the sins committed by human kind.  He was the ultimate example of laying down a life for another.

Do I love my Christian brothers and sisters?  Do I “lay down my life” for my brothers and sisters?  I will give to others if it is in my range of giving tolerance.  That is, if it is not too inconvenient for me or if it does not interfere with my schedule.  But I’m not sure this kind of giving is really what it means to lay down my life.  Do I give even when it hurts?  Do I give to the breaking point?  Is love my full-time occupation?  

I understand that there are other occupations in my life that I must commit time and energy, but I’m just saying that I have no clue what it means to live a sacrificial life.  I will never be asked to die on a cross for the sins of humanity, but I will encounter daily opportunities to give time, money, encouragement, and blessings to others.  Will I lay down my life – each and every day – for these things?  These “little” things?  Is love my full-time pre-occupation?  In this way I fulfill the law of Christ.