What Does Sacrifice Mean To You?

Even though humans are made in God's image, some aspects of that image tend to be challenging for many of us to emulate. One notable example is the trait of sacrifice.

Although Jesus' sacrifice at the cross is our most precious foundation, the idea of presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice unto God can sometimes be beyond our comprehension.

But those who walk by faith and not by sight can never primarily rely on their comprehension. As God teaches us that seeking His kingdom and righteousness is the first step in obtaining the essentials of life, we are left to proceed without immediate clarification of the character or timing of our provision.

The demands of our trust include recognizing that our earthly domain is not the most secure location for storing God's riches. In fact, Jesus' teaching implies that planet earth is not a wise place to invest one's heartfelt connection to those riches.

Jesus' teachings emphasize that we should focus our reliance in God's own person as our ultimate source of His kingdom's riches, rather than any particular category of His creation.

Jesus explains that any diversion of our attention away from God as our provider - and toward the material things that He provides to us - constitutes defective faith, stating: “your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

The psalmist - acknowledging that anyone who trusts God is blessed - similarly recognizes that a believer's blessing is God's presence, observing that God does not withhold any good thing from anyone whose walk is blameless.

In seeking first God's kingdom, we remain connected with God's purposes of blessing all of humanity. Jesus describes this phenomenon as “living water” that flows within a believer, thereby rendering obsolete one's own individual thirst.

We establish an intimately fruitful connection to both spiritual and material abundance when we accepting a transformed purpose of supplying the needs of others. Jesus teaches: “the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Isaiah teaches that God's purposes overwhelm the influence of adverse circumstances in a believer's life. Even in a sun-scorched land, God's sovereign presence both satisfies the believer's needs, and strengthen that believer's frame. Says Isaiah: “You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

As we supply the needs of others, we demonstrate God's principles in an explicitly material setting, whether as loosing the chains of injustice, untying the cords of the yoke, setting the oppressed free, or breaking every yoke. Rather than merely meditating on abstract abundance principles, we must share food with the hungry, provide a poor wanderer with shelter, clothe the naked, and remain accountable to one's own kinsmen.

God continually has shown Himself to be faithful in rewarding a believer's sacrificial faith through adverse circumstances. Our most memorable family histories relate to God's faithfulness through those difficult periods, and our families' enduring legacies usually connect to having a positive impact of those in need. God's faithfulness is our richest heritage.