I recently watched the movie Suicide Squad and found myself caught on a particular scene. In this scene we see the origins of Harley Quinn and Joker's relationship. Joker and Harley stand above vats of acid, which we can assume are located in Ace Chemicals where the Joker was born. Joker, in a testing of Harley's love asks her if she would die for him, and she quickly answers yes. The joker smiles for a second but that smile quickly fades as he realizes that its all to easy to die for another. So he asks her another question; "would you live for me?" and once again Harley answers with a quick yes.
I remember a time when I thought dying for someone was the most powerful action we could ever take for one another. Taking a bullet for a loved one, was something that inspired me, the thought that someone might face death for my sake was such a powerful idea. I think the only time any one died for me that was important was over two thousand years ago, when Jesus took on all my sin, and defeated it, once and for all. Don't get me wrong, dying for another person is still a statement of love, but living for someone is twice the statement dying is after what Jesus did. When Jesus died for us, he made it so that as long as we believed and were baptized, that we would not face a horrible afterlife. Before Jesus, there was wrath based on sin and sacrifice, which made dying for someone mean a lot more than it does now. Shortly before he died for us, Jesus asked us to go out into all the world and spread the gospel. He asked us, to continue his work here on earth because he would be gone. He asked us to live for him.
If all of us died, and left this earth we would be taking the easy way out. We wouldn't have to live with the consequences of our actions, or fix anything we may have broken. We would no longer have any trials or pain. But if we live, we accept the consequences of our actions. We continue to suffer through trials and pain, all for the sake of someone else. That's love.
Jesus had to die for us, so that we could live for him. And so that we could live for others. Whether the others are friend or family, they don't want you to die for them. They love you, and would rather you live than cut your life short because of them. If someone took a bullet for me, I would never forgive myself. Not because I did anything wrong but because they thought that my life was more valuable than theirs. No one's life is more valuable than another, Jesus died for all of us. Which makes everyone's life equally valuable to one another.
So next time you think you love someone, ask yourself;
Would you live for them?
