Things are occurring around this country this week that are begging for us to unite and enter into some messy Jesus business—to put our lives on the line for others. Let us make a choice to love our neighbors, even if it’s costly.<\/p>\n
Here are three situations where\u00a0others have put their lives on the line, at times without their choice.<\/p>\n
#1.<\/p>\n
This week,\u00a0a man stood up to power in Washington D. C. and asked people to cooperate,\u00a0to put down their weapons and love their neighbor.<\/p>\n
He\u00a0spoke of a teenager who literally sacrificed his life so that others could live:<\/p>\n
\u00a0Zaevion Dobson was a sophomore at Fulton High School in Knoxville, Tennessee.\u00a0He played football, beloved by his classmates and his teachers. His own mayor called him one of their city’s success stories.<\/em><\/p>\n The week before Christmas, he headed to a friend’s house to play video games. He wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time. He hadn’t made a bad decision. He was exactly where any other kid would be — your kid, my kids. And then gunmen started firing, and Zaevion, who was in high school — hadn’t even gotten started in life — dove on top of three girls to shield them from the bullets, and he was shot in the head and the girls were spared. He gave his life to save theirs. An act of heroism a lot bigger than anything we should ever expect from a 15-year-old.\u00a0“Greater love hath no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friends.”<\/em><\/p>\n We are not asked to do what Zaevion Dobson did. We’re not asked to have shoulders that big, a heart that strong, reactions that quick. I’m not asking people to have that same level of courage or sacrifice or love. But if we love our kids and care about their prospects, and if we love this country and care about its future, then we can find the courage to vote. We can find the courage to get mobilized and organized. We can find the courage to cut through all the noise and do what a sensible country would do.<\/em><\/p>\n That’s what we’re doing today. And tomorrow, we should do more, and we should do more the day after that. And if we do, we’ll leave behind a nation that’s stronger than the one we inherited and worthy of the sacrifice of a young man like Zaevion. <\/em><\/p>\n The man who was speaking was, of course, President Obama.<\/p>\n The entire speech he gave\u00a0is worthwhile of watching:<\/p>\n