Jesus set the ultimate standard for sacrificial love: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." He was, of course, describing exactly what He was about to do. But He was also setting a benchmark for the kind of love His followers would be called to demonstrate — a love that gives more than is convenient, more than is comfortable, more than is required. Costly service is not glamorous. It is the person who stays at the hospital bedside when they had other plans. It is the parent who gives up sleep to care for a sick child. It is the friend who tells the hard truth when the easy response would have been encouragement. It is the neighbor who helps someone move on the hottest day of the year. It is the team member who takes on the task no one else wants because it needs to be done. None of these moments make the highlight reel. None of them generate applause or recognition. But they are the substance of a truly poured-out life — and they are not forgotten by the One who sees everything done in secret. When serving becomes costly — when it demands something real from you — it also becomes most powerful. A costly act of service speaks in a language that casual help does not. It communicates: you matter enough to me that I will give up something I value for your sake. That is the message of the cross. And it is the message your costly service sends to the people it reaches. Today, be willing to be inconvenienced for someone else. Let it cost something. Let it mean something.