Electrostacrifice

Proof that I know a bit about science. I originally wrote it for a scholarship, but thought I would share it with you all. It was written in response to Socrates' assertion in the "Apology" that fear of disgrace ought to sustain a man's resolve in the hour of danger.

  

            One day in science class, our subject matter strayed like a rogue electron. Attending a small-town high school afforded many opportunities for free radical conversations since teachers were also our mentors, friends, and supplemental parents. We were discussing a story about an American soldier who flung himself on a grenade in Iraq to save his comrades nearby. One boy raised his hand and asked, “But Mr. Lewis, isn’t it always wrong to commit suicide?” The wise old teacher made no other response than to say, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Then he went back to the chalkboard.

            I don’t think fear of disgrace is enough to sustain our resolve in the hour of danger, or if it is, then fear has killed our souls long before physical death could even touch us. The true motivation must be love. Not simply attraction, but rather an ionic bond that requires mutual sacrifice. C. S. Lewis wrote, "Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained." It is a sacrificial spirit of humility, not the constant gratification of our desires.

            It is difficult to say what I would die for because I have never been placed in that situation, but I try to value Christ and his priorities above life itself. I hope that, if ever faced with a choice between life and honoring Christ, I would choose to honor him. I don’t say this to sound religious or holy, although I know it probably comes across that way in our culture. I say this because his sacrifice has engendered a sacrificial spirit in me, forming an electrostatic attraction that makes me smitten, enamored, head-over-heels in love with him. I admire him more than anyone else I've ever met or read about, and I'm irresistibly drawn to his love for me.

            I think we must be in love - true love - to deliberately die for something. The soldier who flung himself on the grenade didn’t have time to dismantle it or to think rationally, weighing the pros and cons of sacrificing himself. His decision came from the kind of deep love that doesn’t have to think; without question, his four friends came first. I will grant, however, that the kind of love that agonizes for hours on end about the decision to die for someone is even deeper. When I look at the story of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, how he spent all night in the most intense prayer ever lifted up on earth and still chose the cross, it makes his love even more divine.

            When I look at the example of the soldier and of Jesus, I see love and not fear of disgrace. Whether I ever have to physically sacrifice my life or not, that is the kind of love I want – an ionic bond that causes me to throw my selfish desires on a grenade each morning so that even while living, I can lay down my life for my friends.