WHAT DO THE WORDS ‘SACRIFICE’, ‘OBEDIENCE’ AND ‘LOVE’ MEAN TO YOU?

SCRIPTURE:
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children
and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave
himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
(Ephesians 5:1-2)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever thought about
heroic efforts you have seen in the news, social media, etc.?
There are many instances where someone spontaneously became a hero
and all the news agencies wanted to be the first to report it.

What motivates someone to risk their own life in order to save someone else?
We may assume that there is some moral fiber in their makeup
that sets them apart from others.
However, when they are interviewed, most of them don’t consider themselves
heroes; they report that they saw someone in need and responded impulsively.

But what about the greatest hero the world has ever known?
Jesus Christ became a hero for every person in the entire world for all time.
Since there is not enough sensationalism, or films of the event, the news media
is uninterested in reporting the most gracious happening man has ever known.

But here is the amazing thing
about the “world’s hero” – he did not give up His life spontaneously.
From the time He gave up heaven and walked on the earth
in human form, He knew He had a destiny with the cross.

What could have possibly motivated Him to give up Himself for all mankind?
There are two things that stand out – obedience and love.
Even though He wanted the Father to change His mind, He willingly obeyed.
His obedience was a by-product of His love for the Father.
His sacrifice was a result of His love for people (all people).

It is no surprise that believers are referred to as “dearly loved children”.
It is also no surprise
that we are given instructions to “walk in the way of love”.
Believers are also called ‘followers of Christ’ which means
we have a natural desire to become more like our leader, Jesus.
Since Jesus was obedient, then we need to be obedient;
since He was known for His love of God and others, we should do the same.

Our world is in desperate need of social reform.
The world tries to perform social engineering
and encourage us to care about and accept others.
That is not a bad thing, but they also try to force us
to accept things that are contrary to our obedience to our Heavenly Father.
We have to exercise Godly wisdom and draw a line in the sand
when it comes to His Will versus the world’s ideas of social reform.

ACTION:
How much more are you like Jesus today
than you were when you first gave your life to Him?
Do you sacrifice for Him out of appreciation for His sacrifice for you?
How often do you set aside your own desires (even if they are not sinful)
in order to worship Him with other believers?

Do you obey His command to ‘meet together’, or do you fall in the group
who are ‘in the habit of giving up meeting together’?
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love
and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the
habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as
you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Jesus gave up freedom from pain and suffering for you.
We are given a simple request to set aside some things we want to do
and obey His command to do what we should do as followers of Christ.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me so much that You sent
Your Son to give up His life for me. Forgive me if I have been selfish
and disobedient by refusing to give up a portion of my life for Him.
Help me to realize the importance of meeting with other believers and
show me how to love in the same way that Jesus loves me.”