Jesus’ Sacrifice

Have you ever witnessed an animal sacrifice?  Not many of us in this country have.  This is the major reason why most of us have a difficult time comprehending what it means to sacrifice.

The common interpretation is that you give up something you enjoy doing for a certain period of time in order to show someone (or God) that you are serious about a commitment you have made.  Athletes sacrifice rest and leisure in order to train to compete.  Parents sacrifice time, energy or money in order to see to the needs of their children.  Many people sacrifice by volunteering to help those in need.

Old Testament sacrifices certainly gave the Israelites the impression of how terrible their sin was, and that it was no easy matter to get rid of it.  Yet there was also the fellowship offering, and the Passover, and the Day of Atonement. Each of these sacrifices were followed by a time of feasting and celebration with others.  Could it be that we have somehow overlooked an important element in God’s definition of sacrifice?

Jesus didn’t enjoy being crucified.  It was a huge sacrifice for him to surrender his life and will and to go through all of that shame and torture.  Yet he spoke often about it as being a victory.  What it was going to do for us brought a joyous feeling to our God and Savior.  He was able to see you and me back into fellowship with him because of it.  And that was worth all of the pain and suffering he was to endure.

So what are we to make of Paul’s admonition in Romans 12:1 when he calls upon us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices?  Can he really mean that I have to give up what I want to do - more than just once or twice a week?  Does God really expect me to be so involved in “boring” religious stuff that I won’t have any time, money or energy for the things that bring me joy? 

No, but do think clearly for just a moment.  The wisest man that ever lived chased and filled himself up with everything that this life has to offer and discovered it all to be totally meaningless (Ecclesiastes 1:12-14).  After “testing” all of the things people pursue in order to find happiness, he concluded that the only thing that makes sense in life is to “fear God and keep his commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  Even Jesus was unable to understand how anyone could chase after worldly things and end up forfeiting their soul (Matthew 16:26).

We are called on to sacrifice so that we can be free to possess and enjoy the things in life that really do matter.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self-control, etc are blessings that enable us to fulfill the purpose we were created for.  But the cares of this world and our selfish desires make it impossible to really take advantage of these favors from God.  That is why we must sacrifice them.  Not because God sees our happiness as being evil.  But because the cares of this world are just an allusion of the true happiness that can only be enjoyed in Christ.

Doug