Re:Verse passage: Revelation 12:1-6, 13-17; 13:1-4, 11-18 (day seven)
“They did not love their life even when faced with death”–v 12:11.
In peacetime, “loving life” is a virtue. At least, some think so. “enjoy oneself in all one’s labor. . .during the few years that God has given”, said Solomon as he tried to discern the way of wisdom. (Ecclesiastes 5:18)
In time of war, this “virtue” is replaced by another–that of “NOT loving life”. When war comes, the man who seeks safety and pleasure or profit is rightly judged as small and selfish. He is a traitor.
In the cosmic war that history is, God’s heroes are marked by unselfish courage. “They did NOT love their lives.” They do not seek safety or success. They realize that they must enter the struggle even if it costs them their life.
Jesus knew this truth. He lived it. In wartime, loving your life is not a virtue. Not loving it is.
