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"NO GREATER LOVE" "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13)The Lord Jesus explains that there is no greater love than laying down one's life for friends, foreshadowing His own sacrifice for every sinner. Jesus continues to instruct His disciples to abide in His love, just as He abides in His Father's love. He re-emphasizes the commandment to love one another and that greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.Many years ago, I read the story of a little boy named Tommy, whose sister Kathy needed a blood transfusion. The doctor explained that she had the same disease that Tommy had recovered from two years earlier. Her only chance for recovery was a transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the disease. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor."Would you give your blood to Kathy?" doctor asked. Tommy hesitated. His lower lip started to quiver. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, anything for my sister who is also my best friend, and I love dearly!" Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room. Kathy was, pale and thin while Johnny was strong and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Tommy's smile began to fade. He watched the blood flow through the tube. With the ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence when he said, "Doctor, when do I die?"Only then did the doctor realize why Tommy had hesitated, and why his lip had quivered when he'd agreed to donate his blood. He thought giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. In that brief moment, he'd made his great decision. Fortunately, Tommy did not have to die to save his sister. Yet, each of us, however, had a death-dealing condition more serious than Kathy's, and it required Jesus to give not just His blood, but His life!Friends, love for others should be the defining characteristic of a Christ-like Child of God whose relationship with those in need of our Saviour's loving and life-giving strength reveals all that Jesus Christ has shed upon them.