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Friday, July 22, 2016

 

Take a moment to honestly respond to the following question. What are you willing to die for? If we were to be entirely honest, the majority of us would answer, for my self. Herein lies the problem, if a person does not have something other than himself or herself that they are willing to die for, they really do not have anything worth living for. This is not to say that our lives are of no value; however, if you die for your self, then you defeat the purpose because, you are dead! Your life is of such immense value that Jesus died for you. Just like Jesus dying for us or like a soldier on a battlefield, when a person is willing to die for something or someone other than him or herself, it is always with the express purpose of saving or bettering the lives of others.

 

Roughly, 500 years ago, before Jesus walked the earth, there was a beautiful, young, orphan girl called Hadassah, better known as Esther. She was born in exile under the reign of Xerxes, the King of Persia. Because of a series of what had to have been divinely orchestrated circumstances, Esther ends up marrying the King. She went from being an exiled Hebrew orphan to becoming Queen to the most powerful man on the face of the earth. Esther went from having nothing to having it all, from rags to riches; she went from nobody to being the Queen of Persia.

 

I neglected to mention one small detail of the story. When Esther married Xerxes, she did not inform him that she was of Hebrew ancestry. One day during her reign as Queen, a decree was issued concerning all Hebrews in Persia; the decree called for the death of all Hebrews. Mordecai, Esther’s cousin and the person who raised her, upon hearing about the decree sent a message to Queen Esther.

 

Esther 4:13 NLT

 “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.”

 

Mordecai was essentially asking Esther to risk position, reputation, and literally her life for that of the Hebrew people. Esther, after prayerfully considering the situation, went before King Xerxes to plead with him on behalf of the Hebrew people, knowing she could potentially lose her own life. Esther was willing to die for this cause, what about you? Is there something for which you are willing to die?

 

I have good news for the vast majority of us today; God is not going to ask us to physically die. He is however asking us to consider others and to be willing to put aside our agendas, wishes, desires, and to take some risks in order to benefit others. This does not mean just for our family and friends but also for those close to and around us. Perhaps it is time for you to volunteer at your local church and to give up some of your life, time, resources, talents, and abilities for the benefit of others.

 

To walk in Ester’s shoes means to live for something that you would be willing to die for.