Sacrificial Love

 

As humans, whenever we think of the concept of love, it usually comes in the form of the feeling. The one that gives you goosebumps and butterflies. Not the one that’ll make you break you back for someone or even go as far as laying down your life. But as Christians, we are also called to this type of love. We are to exhibit not just the flowery version but the down in the pits version. As the New Identity Magazine put it: “Sacrificial love in any relationship…. means loving the other person with good intentions, good actions, and with no regards to yourself”. However, “sacrificial love can be restricted or restrained by what you are willing to sacrifice in that relationship”.

While reading the devotional for the YouVersion word of the day (19^th Oct.), the verse John 3:16 jumped out to me like I was reading it for the first time. And it began to make me think about this phrase, sacrificial love. Imagine someone loving you so much that they gave their most precious gift, the only one they had, for that matter just to save you. It’s mind-blowing! Even the Apostle Paul in Rom. 5:6-8 (AMPC) called it an extraordinary thing and even went as far as saying that if one did it for a noble, lovable and generous benefactor (an almost perfect helper), it would make sense. But it wasn’t! Instead, God did it for people that weren’t of any help to Him. Isn’t that amazing?

A reflection of this love God showed us was done by Abraham, when he went to sacrifice his son Isaac in Gen. 22. After waiting for years for the child of promise, God came to him and asked him to sacrifice his only son. When we grow in our walk with Christ, there are certain things we will need to sacrifice; some may be easy and some may be extremely difficult. In certain cases, because of those we are called to witness to, we would need to sacrifice certain habits. A ready example that comes to mind for me is alcohol. Why? Because it is a debate I hear a lot. As children of God, we are called to live a life that is a worthy example and that is no small responsibility. Remember at the start, I mentioned that what you are willing to sacrifice can restrict or restrain your sacrificial love. In the case of Apostle Paul, he went as far as saying: “Therefore, if [my eating a certain] food causes my brother to stumble (sin), I will not eat [such] meat ever again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble” 1Cor. 8:12-13 (AMP). This is just one example. It may be greater than meat, but the point is, in order to live a life like Christ, we must be ready and willing to walk in the way of love and be sacrificial in our relationships (Eph. 5:2). Keep in mind that not everyone we do this for would be worthy of it, but that’s the beauty. They are not meant to, if they were, there wouldn’t be anything sacrificial about it. It’s easy to love a new born baby but difficult to love someone that betrayed you. Nowhere was it recorded that Jesus hated Judas!

As we go into the final week of October, I want you to ponder on this question: what am I willing to lovingly sacrifice? There will be moments in our sacrificial love journey when our strength will fail and we will be tempted to turnaround and run away, imagine if Jesus had done that, instead of yielding (Luke 22:42). The good news is God is more than able and willing to give you the strength (1 Chr. 16:11, Is. 41:10). In this new week, I charge you to love like Jesus would. Stay blessed and remember, God loves you recklessly!

Song for the week: Reckless Love

Photo Cred: YouVersion

Do It Afraid!

At different phases in life, we all experience the emotion called fear. Fear is a very powerful emotion and can either be the field in which we are buried in or act as the fire through which our character is forged. Fear is such a strong feeling that it can make one abandon all forms of reason and logic in the quest for survival. When confronted with fear, the human mind is presented with two options: fight or flight. A lot of times, in running from fear, we encounter even more troubles along the way.

That was the case of the children of Israel when a few spies were sent into the Promised Land and ten of them came back with a negative report (Num. 13:28-29, NKJV): “Nevertheless, the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” They were faced with the classic fight or flight scenario and as the bible told us, they were so afraid that they chose the latter (Num. 14:1-4). As a result of this fear, they spent 40 years wandering the wilderness (Num. 14:34). All because of fear, 40 years of their lives were lost.

Just like the children of Israel, you may be facing a situation or mountain so great that fear has got you frozen in your tracks. Despite the fact that you are literally a few short steps from entering into the promised land. Let us learn from the Israelites and be like the Joshua generation, who went in and took the land. It is ironic that in order to enter into the land filled with milk and honey, the Israelites had to fight; but just as they did, so would we. In order to possess the land God has promised, you have to do the work of fighting and taking control of it. Keep in mind that God has not only commanded us to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9), He has also promised us that He will be with us throughout the journey (Matt. 28:20).

You may be reading this and thinking to yourself, yeah Sage “it is easier said than done”. What would you say if I told you that I recently had to fight after I had ran away from a particular situation twice! But as God promised, He has been with me and will continue to be with me throughout the journey. As my pastor recently said, “even if you’re afraid, do it afraid!” My charge to you is simple: have faith in God and do it afraid! You will be shocked at what you can achieve when you take that first step. Step out and watch God show out.

Photo cred: Mark Twain