run. remember. love

"This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you." John 15:12

Wear blue-run to remember is a group of athletes with a purpose - each weekend they meet to run, remember and honor fallen service members to ensure that their sacrifices are never forgotten. I, along with some friends, was blessed to join them last Saturday where each runner was given a slip of paper with a name, rank and date of death. That day I felt privileged to be running in remembrance of Marine Sgt. Chad M. Allen (who I later learned was only 25-years old when he was killed on February 28, 2007 in Al Anbar province, Iraq, when a bomb exploded during combat). His mother said that he had enlisted in the Marines the day after 9/11 with one purpose."He was going to save his family from harm."

In John 15;12 we are commanded, or as Google defines the word: given an authoritative order, to love one another just as Christ loved us. That may sound simple enough until we remember that Jesus loved you and me enough to die for us. That's quite a sacrificial love isn't it? Which had me thinking. Are we doing that? Are we really loving one another the way Jesus loved us? With the kind of love Marine Sgt. Allen had when he chose to enlist? While you and I may never have to die for someone else, are we looking for ways to practice sacrificial love? It could be as easy as taking time to help or encourage a friend or as hard as stepping out to embrace a complete stranger or taking in an orphan child. 

Whatever it may be, one thing is certain... our purpose is to love one another every day. And when we think we have loved enough, may we look to the example of those men and women that loved to the point of death, and love others just a little more. 

Heavenly Father, thank you your son Jesus who loved us so much that he was willing to lay down his life for us. Your word commands us to love others in the same way and yet so many of us are failing. Lord, help us to remember those that have given their lives for us and to honor their memories by loving others the way they did... just as Jesus loved us. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!

www.team413.org

Love like Jesus - Rhett Walker Band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkiFoJRn2j0

What a diverse group united for a purpose. 

Preparing to run in honor of a fallen soldier. 

http://thefallen.militarytimes.com/marine-sgt-chad-m-allen/2593397