In the course of human history, many have declared that they would stand by something even if it cost their life. Statements such as: “I know not what course others may take, but as for me: give me liberty, or give me death!” by Patrick Henry, and: “I only wish that I had more than one life to give for my country.” By Nathan Hale, have echoed and re-echoed through the halls of time. It leads one to question: “what is actually worthy of dying for?” I believe that the Scriptures give us the perfect answer.
Matthew 22:37 says: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.” In Daniel it can be noted that the Three Hebrews were willing to die for the cause of truth. Nearly every prophet was also in the end a martyr and so were the apostles. We are also told to rejoice when we suffer persecution. This is the first thing we should be willing to die for: God and His Word. The Banner of Truth must never fall from our hands.
Matthew 22:39 says: “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” This is the second thing we should be willing to die for- Jesus was. We were in great peril of eternal death, but Jesus came and died for us so that we could live with Him eternally. Jesus is our example; therefore, we should be willing to die if we can save someone in this life or the next. Yes, we should be willing to die even for our enemies for it may be that through our death we can give entrance for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives resulting in their salvation.
It is for these reasons that we should be willing to die. We should never die for some selfish cause, but be willing to follow Christ even in death. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13