“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13
When we hear the words “lay down one’s life,” we often think of a dramatic sacrifice like saving someone from a burning building or taking a bullet for someone. But what I identify from this verse is the practical kinds of sacrifices that Jesus is calling us to make.
This could look like helping move a family member out of their house or taking time out of your busy schedule to hang out with a friend. There are many different kinds of sacrifices we can make. What I really like about this verse is it’s short but the words hold a lot of meaning. Sacrifice for each of us can look very different, but they all demonstrate the love of God.
When I saw I was going to be giving the devotional for “Fire up Friday,” I knew this was the verse I wanted to speak about because this weekend we are all making sacrifices to be here. Some of us are missing work, some are missing family events, and you might even be spending money out of pocket to be here.
But what a blessing it is that we can be here and “lay down our lives” to come and serve these families.
By doing this, we are exemplifying what it means to show the greatest kind of love. The same kind of love that the Lord shows us everyday. And that gets me “fired up!”
When speaking with a friend last year, he said something that has been very meaningful to me in life and especially serving on these retreats. He said it’s important to be “expectant, not expecting.” It really puts everything into perspective for me because as humans, we constantly are expecting or wanting something, but in life, and specifically serving on a retreat, it is important not to come in with expectations on how the weekend will go, but to be expectant that no matter what happens, the Lord will be at work.
I pray that this weekend we can consistently show these families and each other this love. And that we can come to serve, not expecting anything, but that we can be expectant that the Lord will work through us no matter the circumstance. Our obedience to the Lord by showing His love to the families this weekend honors Him and demonstrates the love God has for all of us.
Caleb Lee is an Inheritance of Hope volunteer. He originally shared this devotional with the Minneapolis Legacy Retreat® team in June 2026.