Sacrifice

Sacrifice -- what is it? Sacrifice ought to be a willing surrender of a part of us (at some cost to ourselves) for the greater good. At the heart of all sacrifice there must be an offering that originates in the heart of the redeemed. It is founded in gratitude in having received what we have not deserved or earned. It begins and ends for all of us at the cross.

George Sweeting, former president of Moody Bible Institute, once said, "When we come to the end of life, the question will be, 'How much have you given?' not 'How much have you gotten?'" Oswald Chambers once said, "The meaning of sacrifice is the deliberate giving of the best I have to God that He may make it His and mine forever: if I cling to it, I lose it, and so does God." Those thoughts give us all time to pause and reflect before the incredible opportunity God is bringing to this church family. It tells me that our motives need self-examination in regard to how much of the Master's love we possess.

As I thought about this in my own life, I had to pause and thank God for His unending love toward me. It reminded me of a piece of advice my own dad once told me: he used to say, "Son, there are more important things in life than me." It helps me today to be absolutely certain that we, as Christians, are called to sacrifice because we are recipients of His sacrifice. The people who will be among us in the future are from a long line of broken bodies and shed blood. They will join our living history in enacting the dream of God [which] is a people - a family of the redeemed - sustained and transformed by mutual love. Lets all do what God makes possible.

You are loved and important to God and to me,

Pastor Jon