From Jonathan:

Hello, my name is Jonathan Holland. When I thought about people that have loved me like Christ, my mind went directly to 2 people: my wife Joy and my mom Celia. These people have shown me love and grace when I do not deserve it, and I truly do not know where I would be in this life without their love. As I thought though, I decided that I wanted to talk about someone different than my wife or my mom. I decided I want to talk about a guy named Burke Fisher.

I first got to know Burke Fisher when he took me and 3 other 6th grade boys out to eat and then to his home to watch a movie. I remember to this day that we all wanted to watch a comedy movie that was rated PG, but it had some sexual references. He did not think that the movie was appropriate and instead chose a movie about missionaries that lost their life advancing the gospel. This was surprising to me, because I had never met a Christian that was so concerned about filtering what we watched and listened to.

From that point on, every Tuesday night he hosted 7-12th grade boys to his house to read the Bible and talk about it. He even fed us afterwards. I went to this Bible study for 6 years! I remember thinking that he was the first Christian that I had ever witnessed walking with Jesus and living out the Bible from Monday-Sunday. Most Christians that I had known up to that point just talked about Jesus on Sundays. There is no telling how much time and how much money Mr. Burke has spent time with me during those 6 years.

Mr. Burke did not have to go through all this trouble for us. There was nothing in it for him. He was not gaining friends, money, or status by doing this. We were a bunch of kids that could do nothing for him, but he loved us enough to walk us through the truth of the scriptures. Mr. Burke sacrificed his time and money so that Jonathan Holland could grow in his faith. It was a great sacrifice and I was rewarded greatly from it. However, Jesus’ sacrifice for us, when we could do absolutely nothing for Him is so much greater. The King of the universe came down and took the lowly position of getting on a cross, so that I might be lifted up and receive the crown of Life through faith in Him.

Thank you Jesus for sacrificing so that I may live! Jesus, help me to be willing to do the same for others.

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 13:15 “I have set you an example as you should do as I have done for you.”

From Joy:

When I started thinking about a time someone has radically loved me like Jesus, I found myself searching for this big story and starting feeling disappointed in myself that I was having a hard time thinking of one. I remember feeling this way about my testimony as a little girl. I would sit and listen in youth group to a guest speaker sharing their testimony on how God completely changed their life and this awesome story that was so interesting and impactful to hear. This was a little intimidating to me as I would compare it to my story and I would struggle to believe the lie that my testimony wasn’t as important to share or could ever be as impactful because it didn’t have this “big” moment or huge turning point that people would care enough to listen to. As I got older and matured in my faith, I started understanding the truth and beauty of all of our stories being different. Even though my testimony might have felt “simple” or “small,” the Lord could use it just the same to impact those around me if I am trusting and being obedient in him.

I had a similar realization when answering the initial question: to tell of a time someone radically loved you like Jesus. As I shared at the beginning, I didn’t feel like I had this one big story, or person that came to mind initially. However, after taking some to pray and think about it, I started having a flood of people and instances come to mind that I might would consider “simple” moments where I was truly loved like Jesus. I was overlooking these times at the beginning because I was wanting some big “radical” moment that would leave the readers in awe of God’s love, but the truth is God’s faithfulness is shown throughout my whole life and these people that have loved me like him have made such a difference in my walk with him. Whether it’s my mom faithfully praying for me while I’m at college, and then having the courage to lovingly confront me with a burden the Lord had placed on her heart that I was settling with my circumstances and not pursuing Jesus. It’s the time when I went on a first date, and the guy (who is now my husband) asked about my spiritual life and truly cared about getting to know me, showing forgiveness and compassion to the things in my past. It’s the time after going through a difficult loss, when friends and family dropped everything to either drive up to spend the weekend with me or mail me care packages. I could go on and on, and while some of these moments didn’t seem “radical” to me on the surface, they are truly some of the moments that helped shape my view of who Jesus is and also reminded me of how many ways I have experienced his love through those around me.