• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sermo Humilis

Humble Speech

  • Home
  • Topics
    • Just a Thought
    • Who we Are Instead
    • Life in Christendom
  • Series
    • Words that Matter
    • Rock of Ages
    • Let the Lady Speak
    • Life and Times of Jesus
    • Jesus Through all of Life
    • 8 Weeks Before Marriage
    • The Ten Commandments
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Life in Christendom / Sacrifice

Sacrifice

January 9, 2022 By David Trounce Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 3 minutes
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Sacrifice

If you want something, you are going to have to pay for it, or else pay later for having it. And you are going to pay for it in blood, sweat and tears. This is not something we want to hear. We want to hear about revival, rapture or a roll in the hay, not sacrifice. But sacrifice is inescapable.

You will sacrifice. The question is not whether, but what you will sacrifice? The question is not if, but when.

Perhaps you will sacrifice marriage and children for a career. Perhaps you will sacrifice a career for marriage and children. Perhaps you will sacrifice the opportunity for financial gain in order to live an honest, quiet life. Perhaps you will sacrifice all hope of peace and quiet in order to make a million.

Perhaps you will sacrifice the ability to walk up a hill for one more packet of Doritos.

As the wise man once said, no one ever gets away with anything.

Our choices come at a cost and whatever the sacrifice may be, it will be painful. The cost may be a failed marriage or sleepless nights as you lie in bed riddled with guilt. It might be loneliness or dying alone because you were to afraid to face the world.

All of that may sound like bad news. Sacrifice, and the cost of sacrifice, is inescapable in the world God built. But here is the good news: At each step of the way you get to choose your sacrifice. And so, at least to some degree, you get to count the cost before you take your next step. You get to pick your poison.

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (Luke 14:28)

Some people will complain about this inescapable state of affairs, but their objection is superficial. Rob them of their kids or cash and they will want someone to pay for the crime soon enough.

The flip side of this is what (or who) you are making your sacrifice for. Is it worth the cost?

Some people will sacrifice the better part of their lives, loved ones or filthy lucre for 15 minutes of whatever. Some will sacrifice life and limb in order to get what they will shortly lose. By contrast, Jesus sacrificed what He had for what He could never lose.

…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Everyday you and I are making sacrifices. We are making choices, to which are attached a cost. Sometimes we are giving up things of little value. Other times we are giving up something very precious in order to gain what we think matters most.

Either way, all our sacrifices point to the gods we worship. This too is inescapable and there is no point mumbling our excuses or spouting our feeble justification. We all know which little god we serve because of the sacrifices we make in their direction. And everybody else knows it too.

The question is, was it worth it (Mark 8:36)? Are the sacrifices you’re making, taking you somewhere good, or are they tempting you to compromise the things that Jesus says matter most?

Are we giving up loyalties and integrity to keep in step with the Nike crowd? Are we sacrificing those that God has called us to love, or are we sacrificing for the sake of those God loves?

Jesus calls us to live faithful lives, close to Him, and grounded in His Word. He calls us to follow Him; to love what He loves and to sacrifice what He has sacrificed – unto Him and for the sake of others. This, we are told, like all other sacrifice, involves pain (2 Timothy 3:12). But, given what we gain, Jesus says it’s worth it. Well worth it.

Related...

Down, But Not Out
Singing the Blues
And we are Fed
Life in The Spirit

Filed Under: Life in Christendom Tagged With: Discipleship, Joy, Sacrifice


Writing Ideas on Sermo HumilisWhat do You Want to Read About?

 

Nothing like real-world issues to focus the mind. If you have something you would like me to write about, send me a message and let me know.

 

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Sermo Humilis

For the love of all things true, beautiful and good.


Welcome to Sermo Humilis, a digital home for biblical discipleship and cultural Christianity. A few new thoughts every week.

Please remember to like, subscribe and share. It really helps me out.

Subscribe for Weekly Updates

As per our Privacy Policy, we will never hand your information to a third party.

please check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Categories

  • Life in Christendom
  • Just a Thought
  • Who we Are Instead

Find us on Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Medium
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Support Sermo Humilis

If you enjoy Sermo Humilis and want to say thanks you can support me here.

Support

Series

Sidebar - Words that Matter Sidebar Series - Proverbs - Let the Lady Speak Sidebar - Jesus Through all of Life Series

The Most Popular Guff

Flattery

Here is a thought experiment. You have the choice of listening to a

When the Laughter Dies

The joy of the Lord is our strength; and laughter, as the wise man

Jesus, Shaking Heaven and Earth

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus tells the disciples that He came to fulfil the

Jesus, Desolation and Deliverance

The basic assumption of first century Israel was that when the Son of

Jesus, Ask and Receive

Back in Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, "But seek first the kingdom of God

#1 Jesus and Inheritance

Something must be done with our things when we are done with them

Principles, Not Rules

Children love the edges of things and so they build their castles on

See and Hear

On the move? Weekly content can also be seen and heard via Youtube.

Topics

Beauty Charity Children Covenant Creation Death Discipleship Earth Evangelism Faith Faithfulness Fear Fellowship Freedom Gospel Grace Grief Guilt Holiness Idolatry Jesus Joy Judgement Kingdom Law Liberty Life Love Marriage Mercy Money Power Redemption Rest Resurrection Righteousness Sacrifice Salvation Service Sin Truth War Weakness Wisdom Worship

Footer

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe to Sermo Humilis

Find us on Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Support Sermo Humilis

If you enjoy Sermo Humilis and want to say thanks you can support me here.

Support

Copyright © 2022 · Sermo Humilis

Thor's Oak

Around 723 AD, a missionary named Boniface entered Hesse in Germany. Upon finding a sacred tree named Thor’s Oak, he took an axe to it, cut it down and built a church. Many in the town, believing that the God of Boniface must be greater than Thor, left their paganism behind converted to Christianity.