No Greater Love

John 15:11-13  “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you,and that your joy may be full.  This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

Though a Navy SEAL, Petty Officer 2^nd Class Michael Monsoor was a quiet, unassuming, and fun-loving guy who wore a mischievous grin and always had a funny comment.  The members of his SEALs team described him as a loyal and dependable friend who drew strength from his faith and family.   

In May of 2006, his heroism under fire saved a wounded soldier and earned him the Silver Star. Four months later, on Friday, September 29, 2006 his courage was tested again as he stood near a rooftop door in Ramadi, just west of Baghdad. A grenade tossed by an Iraqi insurgent hit him in the chest and bounced to the floor.  Without hesitation, Michael jumped on top of the grenade to shield his fellow SEALs.  The lieutenant in charge of the detail said that Michael “never even took his eye of the grenade, his only movement was down toward it.  He saved mine and the other SEALs’ lives, and we owe him.”   At the age of 25, Michael Monsoor gave His life, leaving behind four grateful families, a legacy of love for his own family, and went home to meet the Lord.  For his actions, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Many have exhorted that courage is not the absence of fear, but the strength to do what is right in the face of fear. From where does that kind of strength come?  In the case of Navy SEALs, it has a lot to do with discipline and training. There are only 2,300 SEALs. More than 75% of the brave soldiers who qualify for training drop out during “Hell Week”-- an intense five-day training in which they are allowed a total of four hours of sleep.   Michael was strong, disciplined, and well-trained, but it was love that prompted him to give his life to save others. The training in California and the battles in Iraq bonded Michael to his team with a love that can only be forged under fire. It is the hallmark of all our special forces – an immediate and undying devotion to one another.

Jesus designed the hallmark of the church to be this same kind of love – born of the Spirit and tested in the fire.  Jesus said, “by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.” We should all ask ourselves, “Do the people in my church sense my love? Do I demonstrate it? Have I laid down my time, effort, and money for the welfare of my church family?”   

More than likely, very few of us will be called upon to die to save someone else. So, how can we demonstrate this “no greater love”? By living for one another, sacrificing for one another and working together as one body to advance the health of the local church and the gospel of Jesus Christ we can express this love. In times of testing and battle, when believers are stretched to their limits, many drop out. Heroes stay and save others.

As believers, we are all part of God’s special forces!  What an honor to serve alongside other men and women who have first given themselves to the Lord, and then to one another, as Paul said of the Macedonians. Our battlefield is dark, but we are light. Our enemy is in the shadows, but we walk by faith, not by sight. Our obstacles are foreboding, but our God is all-powerful.  

When the battle is raging, and we are called upon to give of ourselves, may we, like Michael Monsoor, without hesitation, with a sense of honor, and with a clear focus, react with courageous love.