"The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends." (NCV)
What is God saying?
The greatest sacrifice shows the greatest love.
What is God saying to us today?
When it comes to love, lots of people have lots of different definitions and ideas. Love is a feeling. Love is desire. Love is chemistry. Love is a disease. Love is a blessing. And there's many, many more concepts of love out there. But, God defines love in Scripture as others-centered. We see God's concept of love throughout both the Old and New Testaments, but this passage is perhaps the clearest. Because Biblical love is rooted in others-centeredness, self-sacrifice is evidence of love. So, it makes sense that the ultimate act of self-sacrifice would be evidence of ultimate love.
What is God inviting us to do?
Is your version of love self-centered or other-centered? God invites us to see love as He does, as being something that is about serving others - even if it means laying down your life for them.