“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep.” – John 10:14-15
In September 2024, Richard Aspinwall, the at Apalachee (Winder, Georgia) high school mathematics teacher and football coach, was killed trying to protect the children in his classroom.
Aspinwall, 39, was teaching a class when banging was heard on lockers adjacent to the classroom. Instead of hiding with his students, the teacher decided to try to protect them by going outside the room.
“My teacher, Coach Aspinwall, he opened the door, and he ran outside to see what’s going on,” said Stephanie Reyna.
The sound of gunshots could be heard moments after and Aspinwall was found lying prone in the doorway of the classroom. “He was just there, in the doorway, just laying there. He was trying to crawl back to us … We just think he was trying to get to us,” she said.
"Ricky Aspinwall died protecting people that meant the world to him, and that's his students," said Trevor Metzger, Aspinwall's high school friend. "That's what I want this world to know about Ricky Aspinwall."
There is no greater love than dying for someone, and that is precisely what Jesus Christ did for you. Today in prayer, give thanks to the Lord that He voluntarily laid down His life for you.
“God proved His love on the cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’” – Billy Graham
God’s Word: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13