“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” – Romans
12:1
I am certain that you have seen that verse before. If you read my devotions, then I know you
have. What sparked this particular devotion on sacrifice was actually something
far different than you might imagine. My
grandson, my one and only grandson, is being inducted in the Alabama Air
National Guard this week. His decision
is partly because he needs help pay for
college. His soccer scholarship is not
nearly enough. But mostly because he has always wanted to be a military aviator
one day. A noble aspiration if you ask
me. His induction got time thinking about service and that got me thinking
about sacrifice.
Sacrifice is giving up something that you care about, for a
greater good. In the military, it might
be as small as being away from home for a few years or as big as giving your
life on the battlefield. Military who
have “fallen in battle” are highly esteemed in most cultures. There is a recognition that the person gave
up that which they valued most – their very life for the greater good – their
countrymen.
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater
love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
– John 15:12-13
Jesus was referring to His sacrifice for the disciples and the
world. As Christians, our charge is to live our lives for others and not for
ourselves. The idea is that we should be
willing to set our own goals aside, first for God and second for others. That
demonstration of love was summarized by Jesus in Matthew 22.
“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest
commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the
Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” – Matthew 22:37-40
Lay your life down for others.
Being a living sacrifice means that what the world values – what our old
nature values – is crucified – sacrificed in deference to obeying God and loving
others. For those men that are married,
it means this.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and
gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with
water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church,
without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” –
Ephesians 5:25-27
Think about the implications of that in terms of what you do every
day – men. But wives, think about the general command to lay your life down for
others – that includes your husband. The
welfare of others is more important that your own welfare. Does
that strike a nerve? What do you
hesitate to surrender. It is that thing
that you love more than God and others.
Perhaps there is more than one thing that you hesitate to surrender. But
wait, there’s cause for hope and not despair! The power to love like this is not based upon your own determination alone.
This is a spiritual act requiring the power of the Spirit in you. The kind of love that Jesus was talking about
is a fruit of the Spirit.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” – Galatians
5:22-23
And that fruit begins to grow with the decision to offer yourself
as a living sacrifice to God. There is
so much more to say – but it must wait for another day.
No comments:
Post a Comment