Love
Love is a word that gives us a warm fuzzy feeling. We associate it with joy, acceptance, security, and all the best things in life. When someone says they are in love, they are usually saying it in a state of euphoria.
Sacrifice
Sacrifice, on the other hand, is a word that tends to give us a feeling of dread. We associate it with difficulty, loss, and general unpleasantness. When the Bible talks about sacrifice it conjures up images of priests slaughtering and burning animals. And you would be hard pressed to find people talking about sacrifice today because it is a topic most of us would rather avoid.
Sacrifice is Love
But I am here to tell you that sacrifice is the highest expression of love.
We like to think of love as a state of delight, but the truth is - love takes work.
Marriage
Think of a couple getting married. They’re in a state of bliss because they are joining themselves together in love, but their vows hint at what lies in store for them. To have and hold. Rich, or poor. Sickness and health. Better, or worse. Till death do you part.
Sacrifice increases with intimacy
It’s not long after the honeymoon when the sacrificial aspect of love introduces itself to the happy couple. And the longer you are married, the more intimately that sacrificial aspect becomes entwined in your relationship. Not necessarily replacing happiness - but definitely adding its own unique flavor to it.
And this isn’t just true in marriage, it’s part of every intimate relationship. I would even say that sacrifice is what strengthens the bonds of any relationship.
There’s a distinct difference in relationships you have with people you are merely associated with versus those you have sacrificed for - or have sacrificed for you. The ultimate example of that difference is in the relationship between parents and their children. All throughout history there have been people who abandoned and even sacrificed their own children, but for those of us who have a sacrificial love for our children you know that you will give anything and everything for their benefit.
Love is measured by sacrifice
Now I want you to think about that level of love and commitment. I know it’s an onion that you can just keep peeling, but really get a mental image of the things you would do - or give up - for the people you care about the most.
If you say there’s nobody that you would give up anything for, then you’re actually just saying that you don’t love anyone.
In contrast, you know that you would give up the most for the people you love the most.
Old Testament sacrifice
At the heart of it, I think this is what the Old Testament sacrificial system was all about. God was telling Israel to show Him that they love Him by giving something up for Him.
And He didn’t ask them for that much, really. An animal, which they had in abundance. It was supposed to be a valuable animal, but it was far from being everything.
Sacrifice turned from love into obligation
But people turned this offering of sacrificial love into an obligation. They tore the heart out of it, and performed it like a chore. Until finally God didn’t even want it anymore.
He said in Hosea 6:6 (NLT) “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.”
But people didn’t get it. They idolized the act of the sacrifice rather than making the sacrifice out of love.
And then what did God do? Did He get mad, offended, hurt? Sure. But did He give up? No. He showed us that He still loves us. Rich or poor. Sick or healthy, Better or worse.
The ultimate sacrifice
Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:14-16, “And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Just like we love our children so much that we would give everything for them, our Father in heaven loves us so much that He gave everything for us.
God didn’t just pardon our sins like a king or judge would do - without much real cost to themselves. He sent His son to die in our place - as a display of His love for us.
God sacrificed everything He could for us
The sacrifice that God desired as a gesture of our love for Him does not even compare to the sacrifice He made for us as a gesture of His love for us. He didn’t take an animal from the abundance of animals and cook it up as meal. He came down to earth, lived among us, taught us, healed us, freed us, and willingly died for us. Can you even think of a greater sacrifice that God could have made?
How much does He love us? Certainly more than we deserve, and I’d say much more than we can comprehend.
Sin is not about following rules, it’s about betrayal
Our sins are an offence to God, but they’re not about just breaking the rules. Many times through the prophets God compares sin to adultery.
Sin is not simply a matter of not following the rules.
Sin is a matter of injury to our intimate and personal relationship with God - it’s a betrayal of His love.
Adam and Eve didn’t just take a bite of the forbidden fruit. They covered themselves, hid from God, tried to keep it secret, and Adam even threw Eve under the bus when God confronted him. It was the opposite of intimacy. It was the root of sin.
And God’s answer was to give us another way to show Him that we love Him.
Believe means to be loving
And what does God ask for in return? Not even an animal from our flocks anymore. Only that we believe in Him. That we believe that He loves us. That we believe that He came to us in the flesh as Jesus and showed us the extent of His love for us through the sacrifice He made for us.
If I had to sum it up, it’s like God is saying show me that you love me by believing that I love you.
He’s not telling us to prove that we love Him. He’s simply asking us to accept His love.
All He asks is that we believe that He showed His love for us through the life, death, and resurection of Jesus Christ!
Sacrifice is the ultimate expression of love
I hope you can see now that sacrifice is the ultimate expression of love. God asks for sacrifice from us because God is love (1 John 4:8), and He wants us to love Him. God sacrificed His Son for us because God is love, and He wants us to know that He loves us. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross because He is God’s love made manifest to us. His love overcame all of our betrayals.
God is love, and love is sacrifice. God wants us to love Him, and to love each other - which means that God wants us to sacrifice for Him, and for each other.
What are you sacrificing
What are you sacrificing for God? Do you think that going to church on Sunday is enough? Do you think that giving money to charity is enough? How about your day-to-day, moment-to-moment life? Are you sacrificing your own selfish desires for God’s desires, or the needs of others? Are you sacrificing time spent watching TV, or doom-scrolling social media for time reading the Bible and praying? Are you sacrificing your ego for the chance to invite others into God’s kingdom?
Know that it is through these sacrifices that you will grow in love.
With that growth in love you will be set ever more free in Christ Jesus - from the pull of sin, fear, and shame on your life.
Give your heart to God
If you have not believed in Jesus, or you have turned your back to Him, I ask you to please repent - that means to change your ways. Please open your heart to God’s love. Please believe that Jesus’s death was the ultimate marriage proposal to you. He loves you, and all He asks is that you believe that He loves you.
If you would like some help with opening your heart to God, then I would be happy to pray with you.