The Dead Giveaway

Sinclair writes, “Sacrifice. I lost count of the number of sermons and talks I heard in those days about taking up the cross to follow Jesus, about counting the cost, about not turning back, about giving everything to Christ. But something must have changed since then. These days I hardly ever hear a message or see a book that majors on sacrifice.”

In the modern West, we may not be called to literally “deliver up [our bodies] to be burned” as so many Christians in our history were, or as those in other countries are today. But we are still called to sacrifice.

Paul doesn’t start this verse with the call to martyrdom, but with the call to give away all our possessions. Maybe this hits closer to home for us. How would we feel if Jesus asked us to do that? Or maybe we feel that we do our fair share of sacrifice; Paul then challenges us to consider our motives. If we are not driven by love, if we instead think that our sacrifices themselves are impressive to God, we “gain nothing.”

No one has sacrificed more than Christ. He gave everything he had to live among us. He gave up his life on the cross to save us. Why? Because he loved us.

He came because he loved us. He died because he loved us. He loved us because he loved us. To lose sight of this truth is to lose our love for him, and for others. If we are to learn to live lovingly and sacrificially, we must look first to Jesus, who did both perfectly.

Today, why not reflect on how you feel you are (or ought to be) making a sacrifice. Has your attitude on this been challenged? Pray for wisdom and strength to live lovingly and sacrificially like Jesus.

Love Came Down at Christmas by Sinclair B. Ferguson (published by The Good Book Company) available to buy at Eden Christian Bookstore or Amazon.