Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13, KJV

My friend Blake recently told me about the upbringing of his father and his father’s closest friends. Orphans all, they learned from an early age that, in order to survive, they had to stick together in triumph and in trouble.

One of the friends, Peter Matthew Guenette, got into trouble with the law in the late 1960s. As a result of his actions, he was given a choice: go to jail or join the Army and serve in Vietnam. He chose the latter. Not willing to leave Peter without support, his friends enlisted with him, joining him on the scary journey to Southeast Asia.

This original band of brothers was split up by the Army, but Peter quickly connected with the soldiers in his new company. On May 18, 1968, Peter and his comrades in arms found themselves in a firefight in Quan Tan Uyen Province in the Republic of Vietnam, and during the battle Peter smothered the blast of a hand grenade with his body, sacrificing his life to protect those around him. As Peter’s Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp4c. Guenette distinguished himself while serving as a machine gunner with Company D, during combat operations. While Sp4c. Guenette’s platoon was sweeping a suspected enemy base camp, it came under light harassing fire from a well equipped and firmly entrenched squad of North Vietnamese Army regulars which was serving as a delaying force at the entrance to their base camp. As the platoon moved within 10 meters of the fortified positions, the enemy fire became intense. Sp4c. Guenette and his assistant gunner immediately began to provide a base of suppressive fire, ceasing momentarily to allow the assistant gunner time to throw a grenade into a bunker. Seconds later, an enemy grenade was thrown to Sp4c. Guenette’s right flank. Realizing that the grenade would kill or wound at least 4 men and destroy the machine gun, he shouted a warning and smothered the grenade with his body, absorbing its blast. Through his actions, he prevented loss of life or injury to at least 3 men and enabled his comrades to maintain their fire superiority. By his gallantry at the cost of his life in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, Sp4c. Guenette has reflected great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Pete Guenette, at the young age of 20, demonstrated in action what John 15:13 (KJV) says in words:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Pete’s love for his friends drove him to sacrifice all for his fellows, and in his shadow may we all follow, should the need arise.

Actually, the need is already here. If you are a born again Christian, your greatest friend is Jesus Christ. He died for you so that you might never see the second death, and in return you ought to die to self, becoming a living sacrifice for Him, as Romans 12:1 states. The question is, will you return His love with your own? Will you seek the kingdom of God before your own? Will you make the glory of God the object of all of your actions? Do you love God as much as Pete loved his friends?

Only you can answer these questions, and if the answers aren’t as noble as Pete’s actions, then it’s up to you to make a change.

Will you?