Our souls thrill to the sounds of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for others. On September 11, 2001, hundreds of New York City Firefighters and police officers gave their lives in the service of others. We think about the multiplied thousands who have given their lives in war for their buddies and for the freedoms that we cherish and hold so dear.

Daily, the unsung heroes and heroines are those who give up their time, money and involvement to help those whom they love and are with them to the end. Sacrifice for the good of others still goes on in this country, though seemingly not to the scale it once did. Perhaps it is due to the fact that we have become less neighborly, and we don’t even know who our neighbors are, that we are not so willing to sacrifice for them.

The ultimate sacrifice that we consider as Christians is the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus paid the ultimate price to bring us into a relationship with God. He paid the debt for our sins. He made it possible for us to be forgiven and to be at peace with God and ultimately at peace with ourselves. As we read the gospel accounts of the crucifixion and truly consider that it was my sins and your sins that put Him on the cross, we can’t help but be in awe at the love and stricken at the thought of what it cost to save us.

Now, we who enjoy life abundantly now (John 10:10) and life to come must look at and ask ourselves—are we living our lives worthy of His death? Do we show the world our commitment to Christ by living our lives worthy of His death? Consider these Scriptures:

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph 4:1-3, NKJV)

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." (Col 1:9–12, NKJV)

"You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory." (1 Thess 2:10–12, NKJV)

The greatest honor we can give to Him who died for us is to live for Him and His glory.