“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13).
Over the next few weeks social media is going to be inundated with eulogies lamenting the loss of a great man. I ardently hope that these are posted with sincerity and lead those who know little of the man to read up on the transformative power of his passive resistance. The world I was born into was a world post-segregation, post-apartheid, post-women’s suffrage. This is only due to the work of countless men and women that laid their lives down that the future may be one of greater justice, peace and opportunity.
We must do more than recollect. We must be be willing to act and sacrifice for those around us, to illustrate true love which covers a multitude of sins (1Peter 4:8). Mandiba had a great calling on his life, people often note how long he spent in prison. But I don’t think we give the gravity of that sufficient consideration. He was separated from his wife for almost thirty years, he didn’t get to see his children grow up, his will for equality saw him isolated and continually threatened with death. It is unlikely that our lives will bring us into such similar predicaments, because our predecessors have paved the way. But do not make the mistake of lamenting the world’s loss and not being changed and empowered by it.
A common Christian prayer is for God to give us the ability to see people as He sees them. What greater contemporary example than the man we mourn tonight? After almost twenty seven years of imprisonment, he looked his persecutors in the face and forgave them with a sincere heart. He saw them for members of the same human race and appealed to shared interests, love and humanity. May we strive to follow the evident example of a life lived in applied scripture.
In Mandiba, in the members of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, in the suffragettes we have seen what it is to love through sacrifice; to face persecution and give up comforts that others may flourish. This may manifest itself in a number of ways in your life, please do not shy away from it. We are called to live in love. Always be willing to stand for what is right, to listen to the will of your Father and love with your whole heart.
God bless and keep you always and we just pray for comfort for the many families around the world dealing with loss at this time x
Working Towards Calvary 