No Greater Love - Cindy Sproles

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Bittersweet. That’s how I describe Easter. It was just a twist of fate, but one that twisted in the wrong direction for us. You never know what rolls around in a child’s mind, and this time we were thrown a curve.

He was six. I sat in my Sunday school class down the hall from his classroom when I heard an undeniable scream. Cameron, I thought. Bolting out of my seat, I rushed down the hall. His teacher stood trying to console him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as he wrapped his arms around my neck and sobbed.

“I can’t look! You told me Jesus was my friend.”

“He is!”

“They killed him. And my teacher says it was because of me.” His body quivered.

Tears dripped down his teacher’s face. “I never…”

“I know. It’s fine.”

As he pointed at the pictures of Christ’s beatings, His hands being nailed to the cross, the crucifixion, I realized how truly horrible they were. How did I explain this crass act of cruelty to a child?

We take for granted the pictures of Christ and His crucifixion. We look through rose-colored glasses, at a drop of blood here and there. But it was so much more. The longer I flipped through the Sunday school papers, the harder it became for me to look, too.

“I would never kill my friend!” cried my son.

“Honey, you didn’t kill Jesus. The Roman soldiers did. But, you have to understand that Jesus didn’t have to die.”

“He didn’t?”

“No. All He had to do was call on the angels and they would have rescued Him. But He loved us so much that He was willing to die for all the wrongs we’d ever commit – even before we were born.”

“I couldn’t do that.” my son whimpered.

“I doubt I could either. But Jesus is a different kind of friend.”

The day passed and my son calmed, but as I thought about the picture he’d tried to grasp, I couldn’t help but wonder—really wonder—why? There is no love greater than the love that this Friend, this Father, this God, exhibited for us.

With all the powers of heaven behind Him, He chose to pay the price. Christ made a choice.
Easter is bittersweet. Bitter in His loss, sweet in my gain. And, as I think of the lyrics, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” I find new meaning in His friendship. I’m not sure I’ll ever understand why, but He proved He loves me more than life itself.

When you long for true friendship, look upward to the One who gave it all for you. There is no greater love.

Cindy Sproles, along with Eddie Jones, are co-founders and co-writers of ChristianDevotions.us. She co-writes the popular He Said, She Said devotions with Jones and they co-host the He Said, She Said Radio show.
She is a graduate of the University of Phoenix and her devotions appear weekly in papers across the eastern United States. Cindy is the editor of Christian Devotions and serves as a co-host on Christian Devotions Speak UP with Marianne Jordan. She is a popular speaker for women's retreats and conferences and also travels with Eddie Jones representing Christian Devotions and teaching at writer’s conferences across the country.

Cindy is a featured writer in Faith & FINANCES: In God We Trust, A Journey to Financial Dependence.

Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9822065-4-6
Price: $9.95