Sacrifice –
: destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else.
: an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.
: to forfeit something for something else considered to have greater value.
This word sacrifice has been coming up rather frequently the last couple of weeks… in conversation, in my own mind and thoughts, in last Sunday’s message, and again last night with my college group.
The Lord has been working diligently on my heart, setting my focus on sacrifice and slowly changing my perspective of sacrifice. I think I’ve been looking through an obscured lens for quite some time now but God is breaking through, and I’m here to share with you..
Sacrifice can look a series of ways, but usually takes some form of giving up something to gain something else.
“Why is ‘giving up’ and ‘gain’ in red?” – Well, this is where God starts to wipe away my foggy lens and reveal to me just how wrong I was.
- Often times I have disregard the gain part and automatically given it a negative connotation. I associated sacrifice with loss.
But I’ve been looking at it all wrong!!
- Do I look at sacrifice this way when it’s directly in my favor? Do I view sacrifice the same when someone else sacrificed so that I gain something more valuable? Do I view sacrifice through the same distorted lens when I look at Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross? The same sacrifice that shows me grace and love, and gives me redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life.
For too long I thought sacrificing meant to forfeit something I loved… and it is, but I missed the part where it said to gain something of greater value.
That’s the key!
Last night walking into church I had expectations. Expectations of joy as I’m surrounded by my community, expectations of encouragement from my friends as they all share what they grasped from Sunday’s message, expectations of smiles and laughter, but no where did I have an expectation for conviction.
I was initially overwhelmed as I sat there, completely still, just listening to everyone speak.
I wasn’t prepared for what God had planned.
It didn’t seem like it was hitting anyone as hard as it was hitting me, so when we broke off into prayer groups, I escaped to a dark corner, just me and God.
“God, I’ve been looking at sacrifice all the wrong ways. Teach me how to live a more sacrificial life. Help me fight this tainted view, and renew my view in the light of how you intended it.”
Romans 12:1-2 tells us “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Since being accepted to the World Race, the enemy has been using every little thing he can to draw me away from where God has led…tough, intimate things…my family, my comforts, my friends, the big life events I’ll miss, taking time away from college, and the list goes on. The greater my excitement grew, the more the thoughts came, “but, what about all those things I’ll miss?”
I began assuming all those things as losses. As negatives. As burdens.
I allowed those things to bear more worth than what they deserved and I let them consume my joy.
Yes, I will miss all those things!!!
I will be gone for the big life events. I’ll miss weddings, my sister’s high school graduation, a whole years worth of events BUT look what I’ll gain…
I’ll gain change, in a lot of ways, but most importantly spiritually. With change comes growth.
I gain the opportunity to bring the gospel to the unreached, and that alone is astonishing. God doesn’t need me but he is allowing me.
I’ll experience God in a new way and learn even more about his character.
I’ll form friendships and bonds.
I’ll see God’s creation in new beauty.
I’ll gain knowledge, wisdom, reliance, trust, and on-and-on..
When you view sacrifice for what it is, the benefit FAR OUTWEIGH the forfeits every time (even when you don’t see it right away).
So, it’s time I change how I view sacrifice…. Sacrifice is closing in so tightly on what’s greater in value so much that your only response is complete amazement leaving no room other than to generously and freely give up what’s less important in order to obtain it.
A friend of mine said last night, “You can’t grasp the cross if you’re holding on to the things of this world.”
Another friends said, “Saying yes means saying no to something else.”
