The greatest love a person can show
is to die for his friends.
—John 15:13
On January 11, 2007, President George W. Bush presented the prestigious Medal of Honor to Corporal Jason Dunham.
Posthumously.
Corporal Dunham’s squadron was manning a checkpoint in western Iraq on April 14, 2004, when a grenade was lobbed into the unit. Dunham dived on the pineapple and died shielding his comrades from the explosion.
Presenting the medal to Dunham’s parents, the president said, “Corporal Dunham gave his own life so that the men under his command might live.”
With death closing in on him, Jesus said to his disciples, “The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends.” And then, he did just that.
Not just for those with him at the time, but for all his friends for all time. For you and me.
He didn’t avoid death.
That’s how much he loves you.