If you have put your faith in Jesus and it’s your desire to serve and follow Him, you are and will forever be called to a life of sacrifice.
Sacrifice should be a hallmark of the Christian life, but is that what you see when you observe Christians today? Is a life of sacrifice what you see when you examine yourself?
Someone may be wondering if I’m describing salvation. I’m not talking about salvation- I’m talking about the life we live after salvation. After all, if a person dies, or the Lord returns, immediately following salvation, that person is saved without any deeds.
But most people live after salvation. I’m talking about you and me. We’re alive, so we’re called to a life of sacrifice.
Someone else will ask, what am I to sacrifice? Paul tells us in Romans 12 that we are to sacrifice our own bodies and minds in conformity to God’s ways so that we can know and live out His will.
That type of sacrifice is the noun form; we are the sacrifice. But sacrifice is also a verb. We are to live sacrificially. In other words, sacrifice is an action. The dictionary says that the verb form of sacrifice means the act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.
So I ask you as I ask myself, what important or valuable things do I give up for the love of God (greatest commandment), and for the love of others (second greatest command)?
I may do some things for the love of God and others, but is it a sacrifice if nothing in my life is affected by the giving?
This week we’ll continue to look at the sacrifices that the Apostle Paul made for God and others and hopefully we will be more educated, motivated and convicted to live our lives in even greater ways that can be described as sacrificial.
We do this for our good and God’s glory. May we be and live as living sacrifices for Him.
Much love!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
