DEVOTIONAL SERIES ON LOVE (part-44)

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

BIBLE PASSAGE:
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 the 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.
But so many times the one who performed some heroic effort, doesn’t think
of themselves as a hero.

What motivates someone to risk their own life in order to save someone else?
We might assume 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 the hero for every person in the entire world for all time. It wasn’t
an impulsive act, but a sacrifice out of obedience to God and a love for 
mankind. Since there was not enough sensationalism, and no film recordings 
of the event, today’s news media isn’t interested in reporting the most amazing
and gracious heroic effort that has ever happened.

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, including you and me).

It’s no surprise that believers are referred to as “dearly loved children”.
It’s 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, we need to be obedient. Since He was known for His love
of God and others, we should love in the same way He does.

Our world is in desperate need of social reform. The world tries to perform
social engineering and encourage us to care about and be tolerant of others.
That’s not a bad thing, but they also try to force us to accept things that are
contrary to our obedience to our Heavenly Father.

As followers of Jesus, we must use Godly wisdom and draw a line in the
sand when it comes to God’s will versus the world’s ideas of social reform.
We cannot accept and be tolerant of anything that is outside the guidelines
God has established. We can still love His creations (people), but that doesn’t
mean we accept any actions which conflict with His commands.

ACTION:
How much more like Jesus are we today than when we first gave our life
to Him? Do we sacrifice for Him out of appreciation of His sacrifice for
us? How often do we set aside our own desires (even if they are not sinful)
to spend time worshipping and learning more about the Lord?

Do we obey His command to ‘meet together’, or do we fall in the group who
are ‘in the habit of giving up meeting together’? There may be circumstances
that prevent us from physically being with other believers, but we can always
find ways of meeting with others to worship and praise the Lord.

We can also look for opportunities to encourage and pray for others.
God might want to use us specifically to lift the spirits of another sister
or brother in Christ who may be fighting battles that we know nothing
about, but God knows. Will we accept His desire to use us?
    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 us. We are given
a simple request to set aside some things we want to do, so we can
spend time obeying His commands for those committed to following
Jesus. The more we do this, the more we will want to spend time with
Him, and the more we will look for opportunities to encourage and
pray for others.

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 interacting with other believers and show
me how to love You and others in the same way Jesus
loves me.”

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