This week we are between 2 solemn occasions, Easter and Anzac Day. These occasions are connected by powerful themes such as love, faith, sacrifice, death, hope, life. Both occasions story out the inhumanity of humanity. They speak of the evil powers present in our world that bring death and destruction, always at the cost of innocents. At Easter we recall Jesus in the hands of evil rulers and crowds. On Anzac Day we stand in front of pillars lined with the names of our nation’s sons and daughters.

In our nation this terrible cost of war finds its hope with the bible reading used on Anzac Day:

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13

It seems, when surrounded by evil we Australians find our meaning in loving one another through self-sacrifice. ‘For King and Country’ may have mobilised those World War troops. What gave them hope in the trenches, were the bonds of love, faith and sacrifice between them. It reminds us of how evil dehumanizes, love humanises. In war people die by the thousands as corpses and numbers. In contrast people who love, grieve their lost family, friends or neighbours by name.

The words we now use to describe this great love, were first the words of Jesus for his followers. This love Jesus would give for the world. In love, Jesus laid his life down to rescue us. This love was to be seen in his followers. They were to love and serve one another, in the same way Jesus did.

In war, heavenly or human, the battle may be between epic powers of leaders, nations or angelic hosts. What is accomplished in those domains is hard to know. But we know this, the great cosmic battle of Jesus defeating our sin and death came down to love. Greater love. Jesus, he knows you by name, he loves you so much he died in your place, to bring you life. As we remember on Easter and Anzac Day, we remember great love, that bears our sacrifice, to bring us life.

In Him,

Jason

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash