Living Sacrifice part 3
Somehow I think we still think of sacrifice--especially in the religious sense--as chopping up animals on an altar. Even though that's not what we do these days, even in church. That still seems to be the mindset. Somehow. For some reason. On the other hand, when I think of sacrificing something, it's usually my time or money. My Three T's. Time, Talent, and Treasure. Those are the things I have. Those are the things I can give. To me, that's what it means to lay your life down for your friends. To give everything you have and everything you are. To present yourself to the Lord as a living sacrifice. By living. Because living is loving. Loving is giving. So living is giving. It's a life of service that really matters. Not worrying about yourself, but taking care of others. Not trying to get something you think you haven't got (by trying to be someone you're not), but by giving what you've got (by being who you really are). Look at Psalm 141:2, "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands at the evening sacrifice." David speaking here. The man after God's own heart. Speaking of raising his hands as a sacrifice. Not an animal in sight. See, we don't need all those old religious trappings in order to praise and worship. We have prayer. We have our hands and feet. We don't need to give a sacrifice when we understand that we ARE the sacrifice. Jesus said there is no greater love that a man can have than to lay his life down for his friends. That's what love is: Giving your life. Giving yourself. Giving everything you are and everything you have. Gladly spending it all and not worrying about whether or not you "get" anything from it. If you're giving in order to get... that's not a gift. That's an investment. And that's a gamble. Because giving doesn't mean that you WILL get. At least, not necessarily in the way that you think you "should." Because the goal of love is to edify others. To build up others. To help others. It's not about you. But the cool part is, if you have love to give... that means you have love. You ARE loved. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. Loving someone is the best proof of love that there is. It proves that on some level you know and believe that you are loved. Did you catch that? It's not by "getting" anything. It's by giving. It is more blessed to give than to receive. But you have to receive before you can release. You have to know what you've got before you can give what you've got. You have to understand what it means to give a sacrifice. To BE a sacrifice. It's like the difference between GOING to church (which, by the way, I don't have anything against) and BEING the church wherever you are at any given time. To live is to love. That's my refrain. If you want to truly live... you have to love. Love God and love people. Love God BY loving people. That's what it's all about. Putting others first is how we sacrifice OURSELVES on that altar. Giving what we've got. Being who we really are means GIVING who we really are to the people in our lives. Raising our hands unto the Lord and letting what's inside--the love that is inside--come out!