So, in the bible study I am a part of right now, we are in a series on commitment to different aspects of how we can be fully committed in our faith.
One thing we discussed tonight was sacrifice, and truly putting other people first, as a way to commit to loving our friends. It got me thinking about our culture, and how rarely we see a person put someone else’s needs before their own, or give of themselves to make another person’s life better. We live in such a dog eat dog world where we are taught to fight for ourselves and let people into our lives only when they prove themselves useful to us. This is quite contrary to scripture, which calls us to treat every person we come in contact with with love, service and sacrifice (Phil. 2:3, Romans 15:1-2). We are called to edify others not only through being a generally “nice person”, or by doing good things, but by giving of ourselves in a way that requires sacrifice.
So often I have thought about sacrifice in terms of things that I thought I deserved that will either never come to fruition or will not in this season of life. For instance, going on the World Race, I am leaving behind potential careers in the field that I love, relationships that I have been building, and the comfort that I feel entitled to simply because I have had it my entire life. But how can I consider these things “sacrifice” when I am trading them in for my Father’s perfect plan for me, which I know to be better than any plan I could come up with? Seems more like a smart trade than sacrifice to me, in hindsight. Surrendering what was never guaranteed or promised to us in the first place isn’t having a sacrificial heart….its simply the discomfort that comes from trying to plan your own life without consulting your Creator.
All of this got me thinking about the bible verse “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice…” in Hosea. That verse always confused me. I always thought, “why not both, God?”. But now I think I get it. A truly sacrificial heart is a heart of Mercy. A heart that can relate to God and to his people and be merciful will result in an outpour of selflessness, not just ritual sacrifice.
So I’m thinking about all of this, and thinking how rare it is to see a truly sacrificial heart. Even amongst our bible study, very few of us could quickly come up with examples of when we, or someone we knew, made a great sacrifice for the benefit of someone else.
After our bible study, we always go out to eat somewhere. Tonight we went to Applebees. There were about ten of us sitting in a big booth. In the booth behind us was an older man sitting by himself. He acknowledged us with a gentle laugh once or twice, but other than that, kept to himself. At the end of the night, our waiter came up and said
“I just wanted you to know, that the gentleman sitting in that booth there wanted to put $50.00 toward your bill.”
I was stunned. The man had left without saying a word. He didn’t want credit or praise (which too often motivates our “sacrifice”). He didn’t even know us. Yet he was willing to give of himself to completely make our night and lighten our burden.
I left feeling encouraged, uplifted, edified, strengthened, cared for and touched. I left feeling like I had seen a glimpse of Jesus in that man. Isn’t that the point?
Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice not out of obligation but out of love. His mercy led to his sacrifice. My prayer is that in these next two months as I prepare to serve side by side with 5 beautiful sisters (shout out to Team Submerge), that God would grow in me a sacrificial heart. That I would be the first to offer to do the gross job that no one wants to do. That I would be the first to take a rickety top bunk. That I would volunteer for the less appealing ministry sight, or to lose sleep in order to stay up and talk through something that is burdening one of my teammates, rather than choose myself, which I do much too often.
Lord, help me to recognize my selfishness and repent of it. Teach me to pour out sacrifice that is rooted in mercy.
My challenge to anyone reading this is to look for sacrificial hearts in others and affirm it. To recognize ways that you could grow into a more sacrificial person, by noting the ways that others feel love, and giving of yourself in order to help them feel cared for.
