3:100 – Sacrifice: It’s Not About You

#faithbites #faithjourney #holyweek sacrifice

“I can’t go outside.” “My freedom to do things is being taken away.” “An economic collapse is bad for me. Open America.” I have heard these sayings and many more like them in these days of shelter-in-place for COVID-19. This is where the I is more important than the we. If someone else may be hurt, it’s ok for me to do what I want to do.

Sacrifice isn’t supposed to be easy. You never sacrifice for your own good but for the good of others and your community. By staying at home, you are making a sacrifice for the health of everyone.

As we approach Good Friday where Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice we need to reflect. He didn’t do it because it was easy. Nor did he do it for himself. He did it to save all of us.

Sacrifice is never easy, but as we see in Christ, sometimes it’s needed for all of us to live.

Scripture

• Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood.  So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore.  For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. – Hebrews 13:11-16

Reflection

Blood. Pain. Torture. Exhaustion. Thirst. Death. This is what Jesus’s sacrifice looked like. He did this for us. We use him as an example of what true sacrifice and true love is. There is no I in it.

As we reflect on the Good in Good Friday, we remember that we should emulate his behavior. Sacrificing isn’t meant to be easy. It’s to give up something to benefit others.

Are you ready to sacrifice?

Challenge

What are you giving up during this time of turmoil? How are you getting by? Are you seeing how important sacrifice can be?

Prayer

Lord God, we thank you for your Son and his sacrifice. We can’t imagine the extent of what he went through. Our trials and tribulations are nothing compared to that. Give us your strength as we give up for our community and your fellow children. Help this pandemic to be over quickly so we can come back together and find a new normal that is more in line with your love, your will, and your way. Amen.