A Testimony of How Important is a Life that is Laid Down

John 12 :24-25 "Verily, verily I say unto you, except the kernal of wheat shall fall into the ground and die, it alone abides; but if it die, much fruit it bears....(likewise...) He that loves his life (in this world) loses it, but he that hates his life in this world, unto life age-abiding shall keep it".
Rev. 2:10c"Become you faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life".
Rev.12:11"....and they loved not their life even unto death".

The testimony of the life of Jesus shows us how important is a life that is laid down. His life is the pattern for all of us, and is to be replicated in all of our lives. We are all meant to lay down our lives so that others might live. Because of the weakness of our flesh, God has ordained for us a way to do it which is "natural". That way is through the means of the family.

The "law of the family"; ie, the way the family is meant to operate, is according to the principle of each member laying down their life for the others. The key to the operation of the family is the "God consciousness" of the husband and wife; ie, recognizing that each of them has a certain role "to play" and the willingness to live out the role without resistance; dedicating their lives to be true husbands and true wives according to the pattern laid down in the Book.

Laying down the life is the putting aside of selfishness. Putting aside selfishness is experiencing resurrection; it is putting on immortality. Selfishness is "flesh and blood", as in "flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God".

The "life in this world" quoted above in John 12 is the life lived in selfishness, which actually is not life, because true life is fruitfulness. Hence, a life of selfishness is "abiding alone" because it's focus or center of attention is ME or I, and therefore doesn't include others except so far as they can be used to further the life of ME or I.

God ordained the family to be the entity or Body to show forth His nature of selflessness and fruitbearing; fruitbearing, both physical (the creation of physical Godly seed-other humans), and spiritual (the bearing of fruits of the spirit through a unified many membered body). The family is meant to be a "picture in miniature" of the Assembly/Body of Christ, where each member lives in selflessness in their relationship with the other members. The family who lives in this manner is the fulfillment of Jesus' sayings about "salt of the earth", "light of the world", and a "city set on a hill".

The Spirit of Elijah is at work in the earth to bring this condition into manifestation even as I write this; doing the work of restoring the family to it's proper order and function. "Elijah comes first and restores all things". Salt and light cannot exist where selfishness rules and the life is not laid down. The Kingdom of God is manifested on earth through the family who is determined to live in accordance with God's way of selflessness; THEY SHOW THE MIND OF GOD IN THE EARTH.

In the family, each member puts others before themselves-selflessness. Out of this comes immortality, which when one lives in selflessness, is "put on" like a robe; another term for this is righteousness, which is "the white linen of the righteous acts of the saints". Then comes the "crown of life" which is given to those who willingly lay down their lives in selflessness-"be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life". When this is occurring, you are dwelling in heaven while simultaneously living in the physical body on earth and are a fulfillment of Rev. 12:11 in it's entirety:

"and they overcame the adversary by reason of the blood of the Lamb, and by their witnessing word and THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIFE EVEN UNTO DEATH."

The "death" is the ceasing of the operation of selfishness in the life of the individual.