Sacrifice

The discipline of sacrifice is a long-lost concept to modern Christianity. Personally, I am forced to admit that I have sacrificed little to follow Jesus. Someone once said that the measure of a sacrifice can only be accurately made by the one making it. In other words, what may not seem a great sacrifice to me, you may view as an extreme sacrifice. In any case, living a lifestyle of sacrifice will cost us.

Our Lord Jesus made this perfectly clear when He set forth the requirements for being His disciple in Luke 9:23-24. It is a life of self-denial and cross-bearing. To Jesus' first-century hearers, the cross was clearly a reference to death. It meant a one-way journey. When a person took up a cross, it meant they were not coming back. This is the essence of denying one's self. When we confess Christ as Savior and Lord we surrender the right to make final decisions for our own lives. We now belong to Him. Some practical applications of this truth are given in Luke 9:57-62 where some came to Jesus intent on making a bargain about following Him. One hadn't counted the cost, and Jesus pointedly shared with him that He essentially lived life as a homeless person, dependant on the benevolence of others. Another wished to wait until parental obligations were finished. A third wished to maintain ties with his family that would have hindered his commitment. Jesus' challenge to them and to us was to lose ourselves in living for Him (Luke 9:24) and find total fulfillment, and not to lose our lives in lesser pursuits.

Later, in Luke 21, Jesus pointed out the sacrifice of a poor widow who came to give her offering at the Temple. As others around her were loudly and lavishly pouring in great amounts, and drawing much attention to themselves, she slipped by unnoticed but by Jesus. He drew attention to her and her meager gift. While others gave from their abundance, she genuinely sacrificed to give "all she had to live on". Can you remember a time when you sacrificed to give to Kingdom causes? Have you ever gone without for the cause of Christ? Does your love for Jesus and His Kingdom work compel you to sacrifice conveniences or even necessities so that others may hear and believe?

We can only consider such a sacrificial attitude and lifestyle if we have first given ourselves fully to Christ. In Romans 12:1-2 we are commanded to offer our very bodies, our very lives, as a sacrifice to God. It is to be a living, useful sacrifice. In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote that this type of surrendered life is only reasonable in light of all Christ has done on our behalf. It is a life of worship and service to God, and not characterized by selfish desires and goals. Such a sacrificial offering transforms our thinking and therefore our living. Making sacrifices of temporal things to further the cause of Christ is not so unusual or extreme when our thinking parallels Christ's thinking. After all, He sacrificed much more than we ever could, and He did so willingly, out of love for us.

Sacrifice demands a radical shift in thinking, in living, and in our priorities. Christ must come before anyone or anything else. All other considerations become secondary when He is Lord. Corrie Ten Boom, the World War II holocaust survivor, wrote that she had learned to hold everything loosely. Then it didn't hurt so bad when God had to pry her fingers from around what He demanded. Is there anything you would not be willing to give up for Christ? If so, what do you need to do?