What are you willing to Sacrifice?

My husband's work picnic was fun! It rained pretty hard for a while but I don't think that was important. The important part was I was finnally willing to sacrifice something for my husband. As I continue to grow in Godly love for my husband I am reminded of the sacrifices that God and my husband make for me every day. It wasn't important that it rained! What was important, is the fact that I went to that picnic with a joyful heart. My husband wanted to take the kids, he didn't even think to ask me to go because he didn't think I would take time off of work to go. We talked about this yesterday a little. I was teasing him about not asking me to go and he looked at me and said, "Lori, you would never have taken time off in the past so how would I think that you would take time off now". Ouch! He didn't hurt my feeling, he was just telling the truth. When I came home from worship team practice last night, I sat down beside him and he thanked me for going with him to his picnic. I was so happy that I came out of my comfort join and asked him if I could go. These are very small baby steps, but I PTL that I am making a little progress.

It is not in my nature to take a day off of work! I have to pay someone to do my route and give up the control to love my husband enough to do that. I'll be honest, in the past, I wouldn't have given up for him. I am finnally seeing, what is important in my life. Giving up control and loving others is very important in my spiritual growth. How can I say I love God if I don't even show that I love my husband, I can see and feel and am around him all the time? How can I say I am willing to give up everything for Christ if indeed I give up nothing for anyone else? These are things I am working on in my life at this time.


Sacrifice must involve a real cost, or it is not really a sacrifice. The cost of offering a sacrifice in the Old Testament was atually quite substantial - an unblemished lamb, goat, or bull from your flocks was definately a substantial cost. While we do not offer such sacrifices today, the question remains: do our sacrifices or offerings to God actually cost us anything? If they do not, then are they really a sacrifice?

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart" (Ps 51:17).

Paul writes in Romans 12, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship"

(Ro 12:1). Sacrifice today should involve us offering all of ourselves to God. This does come at a cost. If we truly offer ourselves to God, then we must lay down our own goals and ambitions, and submit them to what God's plans are. The paradox is that when we do that, it is then that we discover what our goals and ambitions should have been all along.