Learning to live for others is another part of Christian discipleship. Some years ago, the title `The Man for Others' was in common use about Jesus and, though inadequate, it points up a vital aspect of his life. It was poured out for other people. And in this materialist and basically selfish society few things speak more eloquently for Jesus than sheer benevolence to others, giving without thought of anything in return. I shall not forget the amazement at a checkout in a supermarket when I heard the person in front of me say with dismay `Oh, I can't pay for all that.' So I said, `I'd be glad to make up the difference,' and I did. It seemed a natural thing to do and I had no idea that it would have any repercussions. But months later, when I went back to that store, I found they remembered me at the cash desk as the person who had paid someone else's bill! A tiny thing to do ... but unusual enough these days to cause comment.
It will be your job to excite your friend with the truth of Jesus' words ‘It is happier to give than to get‘. That - flies in the face of the world's values, but it lies at the heart of discipleship. Every Christian knows John 3:16. But 1 John 3:16 is just as important!
This is how we know love. He laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren:
John continues
If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth.
Curiously enough, this learning to live for others is very closely related to one of the biggest hungers of our time. People are realising that materialism by itself does not give deep satisfaction. Moreover, the money market is highly volatile and jobs are increasingly scarce. People want to design their lives so as to gain maximum satisfaction. Leisure activities and private associations figure far more prominently than they used to in our priorities; and, above all, the longing for relationships. And when we start seriously learning to live for others we discover a marvellous fulfilment of those longings, though in a paradoxical way. Jesus said, `Whoever tries to hang on to his life will lose it; and whoever is willing to give his life away for my sake and the gospel's will find it' (Mark 8:35).
It seems improbable, but it is true. The Christian prescription of living for others is, curiously enough, the highway to discovering the very thing modern man is longing for - deep satisfaction.
How Can I Lead A Friend To Christ,
Michael Green
Hodder and Stoughton