“你们要彼此相爱，像我爱你们一样；这就是我的命令。人为朋友舍命，人的爱心没有比这个大的。你们若遵守我所吩咐的，就是我的朋友了。” - 约 15:12-14

我是一位父亲，也是一位祖父。我想，如果有必要，我肯随时舍弃自己的生命来拯救我的孩子或孙子。我相信其他父母和祖父母也会这样做。但是我愿意为一个朋友舍命吗？

我可以想到一些非常好的朋友，和他们在一起很享受。但我想不出有哪个朋友是我愿意为之舍命的。那将要求超越我现在所达到的爱的水平。

正如罗马书第5章所说，为义人死，是少有的，更不用说为不义的人了。

然而，“唯有基督在我们还作罪人的时候为我们死”。而且“我们作仇敌的时候，且藉着神儿子的死，得与神和好”。耶稣的舍己牺牲是对他人之爱的终极榜样。祂称祂的门徒为朋友，祂也向我们所有人显明，祂是一位最好的朋友。

鉴于耶稣舍命的难度，我可以理解为什么莱因霍尔德·尼布尔称这种爱为“不可能的可能”。只有在基督——神的儿子里面，祂倒空自己来代替我们受死，这样的爱才有可能。而只有藉着基督，我们才具有接近活出这种爱的可能性。

祷告

主耶稣，我经常因为朋友而感到困惑或受伤——仇敌就更糟糕。但你是最好的朋友。求将你的爱注入我整个人的心中。帮助我成为你的样子。阿们。

罗马书 5:1-11

1我们既因信称义，就藉着我们的主耶稣基督得与神相和。
2我们又藉着他，因信得进入现在所站的这恩典中，并且欢欢喜喜盼望神的荣耀。
3不但如此，就是在患难中也是欢欢喜喜的。因为知道患难生忍耐，
4忍耐生老练，老练生盼望，
5盼望不至于羞耻，因为所赐给我们的圣灵将神的爱浇灌在我们心里。
6因我们还软弱的时候，基督就按所定的日期为罪人死。
7为义人死是少有的，为仁人死或者有敢做的；
8唯有基督在我们还做罪人的时候为我们死，神的爱就在此向我们显明了。
9现在我们既靠着他的血称义，就更要藉着他免去神的愤怒。
10因为我们做仇敌的时候，且藉着神儿子的死得与神和好，既已和好，就更要因他的生得救了。
11不但如此，我们既藉着我主耶稣基督得与神和好，也就藉着他以神为乐。

The Best Of Friends

"Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." - John 15:12-14

I am a father and a grandfather. I like to think that I would readily lay down my life to save my child or grandchild if necessary. I’m sure other parents and grandparents would do the same. But am I willing to die for a friend?

I can think of some very good friends who are a treat to be with. But I can’t think of one that I would readily die for. That would take a level of love beyond what I have attained.

It would be rare, as Romans 5 says, for a person to give up their life for someone who is good—not to mention one who is not.

And yet “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And “while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.” Jesus’ self-sacrifice was the ultimate demonstration of love for others. He called his disciples friends, and he has shown all of us that he is the best of friends.

Given the difficulty of Jesus’ sacrifice, I can understand why Reinhold Niebuhr called such love “the impossible possibility.” Only in Christ, the Son of God, who emptied himself to come and die in our place, is such love possible. And only through Christ can we even come close to living out the possibility of such love.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I often feel confused or hurt because of friends—and even worse because of enemies. But you are the best of friends. Give me your love at the center of my being. Help me to be like you. Amen.