Would you die for me? Would you take a bullet for me? How about your neighbor? How about the kid who sits alone at lunch? I know someone that would. He would die for me, you, and everyone else. As a matter of fact, he already has. He’s been beaten, tortured, humiliated, had a crown of thorns thrust upon his head and left to die on the cross. But underneath that crown of thorns, was the Son of God. He died a cruel and brutal death so we didn’t have to suffer. It’s hard to believe that underneath those thorns, is purity; underneath thorns, is mercy; underneath thorns, is salvation. It’s hard to believe that the stranger underneath thorns would die for me. His death eclipses everything I live for.

It’s odd to imagine a stranger dying for you out of his/her own moral being. Since when has a complete stranger ever cared for me? The mailman, the bus driver, even the substitute teacher is a stranger. It’s hard to imagine seeing one of them die for me. May be it wouldn’t be as hard to imagine if everyone cared. If everyone cared even a little bit more about each other, lives would be changed. Lives would be saved. If everyone cared about their neighbors, relationships would be made. Love would flow between people like waves on a beach.

But not just the neighbors that live next door; the janitors, the people next to you on the bus, and the clerk at the grocery store, they’re your neighbors too. What if everyone cared for them too? Their lives would be blessed by having you in their lives and them in yours. Even though strangers don’t die for us every day, they do things that often go unnoticed and without thanks. Cleaning carpets and stacking chairs isn’t too bad of a thing but it isn’t desired by everyone. Just by saying thank you, you will put a smile on a stranger’s face.

But what Jesus Christ did for me is something that I can’t say thank you for. I will never amount to Jesus. I will never suffer the way He did. But I don’t live my life without meaning and respect because of that. I live, laugh, love and praise Him to make the world a better place. By caring for my neighbors, I spread His love. By His grave, I live in unity and forgiveness. By His joy, I laugh and glorify His name. By His grace, I exist. By His sacrifice, I live and by His words, I praise.
He died for me and he died for you. I believe in love and grace. Because of that belief, I give God the glory. Because I believe, I will have eternal life. Because I believe, he stands in heaven, smiling down on me. By believing, I thank a complete stranger for His sacrifice.