Let Our People Go: Korean Hostage Shows Greater Love

I just came across this from Chosun.com, who have an update on the still tense and deteriorating negotiations for the Korean aid workers held hostage:

"Meanwhile, one hostage gave up her chance to return home to another woman when the Taliban freed two female hostages last week. The woman asked the kidnappers to release the other woman instead of her, saying her health was getting better."
Hat tip: Persecution Blog

I was reading in my reflective time a couple of mornings ago and my atention was arrested by this:
"That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served - and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage." (Matthew 20:28, Message Version)
It has stayed in my thoughts as I think and pray for the Korean aid workers, and it strikes me that this is exactly the example that one of the women has displayed. Such a contrast between what can only be described as evil and what is the essence of love - there is no greater kind of love. The team have been held hostage since 19 July. I can only imagine what it must be like for them. These people are part of our spiritual family, and their family and friends in Korea are keep vigil and demanding their release. Let our people go.