Jesus didn't die for you because it was fun

Jesus didn't die for you because it was fun
He hung there for love because it had to be done
And in spite of the anguish His words were fulfilled
Because love is not a feeling it's an act of the will
       Don Francisco

I think a lot of people have this mixed up idea that love is supposed to be all happy and fun and that when loving gets tough, they should just get going. I have seen too many people, Christian's included, approach love like it was all about them. Love, however, is demonstrated not by me-ism or feelings but by a commitment and willingness to do the right thing, whatever the cost.

Jesus did not approach the cross as if it were some happy, delightful experience that He couldn't wait to do. Gethsemane was not about Jesus' conversation with the Father about how he was so looking forward to dying on the cross and how he felt great about it. Jesus Christ's journey to the cross wasn't like a trip to Disney World; it was, in literal fact, a trip to Hell and back. He chose, with an act of His will, to go to the cross and die for you and me because it was the only way. It had to be done if we were to be saved. He loved us, so he chose action.

The Bible declares the fact that the world will know we are Christians by our love for one another. Have you demonstrated love by your actions or have you instead lived life as if a warm fuzzy feeling is all that is required? I know a man who once declared that for a period of more than three years during his marriage, he had had no loving "feelings" for his wife; however, his wife never knew this until years later because he chose to demonstrate and act out his love in spite of his lack of "feelings". Can that be said of us? Will our love of our Christian brother be seen by our choices, by the acts of our will, regardless of how we feel?

Let us remember Jesus' ultimate example in that he died for us not because it made him feel all fuzzy-wuzzy inside, but because he loved us and that love is a choice we make, an act of our will to do the right thing no matter the cost.