"... looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God."
Hebrews 12:2
The biggest message I draw from the story of Jesus and his passion is that God wants us to love one another in the way that Jesus loved us: with total selflessness. Jesus demonstrated his selfless love for people by dying for them in a brutal and painful way, while enduring the shame that those same people held him in. We are to look to Jesus as an example of how to love one another, and also find in him the comfort that our God loves us more than we can imagine.
This passage made me ask this of myself: "When is the last time I disregarded my own interests and did something purely for the sake of someone else?" I wasn't entirely pleased when I found the answer. When I step back I realize my life is full of transactions; trading one thing for another. But God tells us that sometimes we need to get over our own wants and give without taking.
Bryan Howl
