Sacrificial Love
As we start the Lent season, preparing our hearts for Easter, we get the opportunity to sacrifice something for Jesus. Not that anything we ever do could make us more or less deserving of what He did for us. However, this season is still a blessing to walk in His footsteps and pick up our crosses daily. In Matthew 16:24, we read, “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
This is a season of denying ourselves of something, asking Him for help through the struggle of giving it up, and ultimately following Him. The sacrifice Jesus made for us was more than Him on the cross. He also walked this earth constantly misunderstood, being mocked, being betrayed, showing us what the truest and purest love looks like when nobody could ever return the favor. Jesus was and is God, and as God incarnate, He had understanding and knowledge about things that nobody He was around could even fathom. He had a love that nobody could comprehend. I imagine that as being incredibly lonely. As believers, we are called to be different, which can sometimes bring similar feelings of loneliness. Lent is a chance for us to experience Jesus' sacrificial love by offering some in return. Maybe we will give up something that nobody understands how we can live without it. Maybe we could give up jealousy, anger, or impulsivity. Our sacrifices are meant to be meaningful during this time and draw us closer to Jesus.
In the previously mentioned scripture, Jesus goes on to explain how sacrifice on earth is actually what we need to do to gain the kingdom of heaven. We have to constantly deprive our flesh, and constantly ignore our pride, lust, selfishness, revenge, and every other human experience that does not glorify God. Life on earth is so simple but so difficult. As believers, we know that nothing is more important than God. But, as humans, we feel so many worries and earthly desires. Jesus knows this and understands the conundrum. He came to earth and experienced it for Himself in the most humble way possible. I hope you can make a sacrifice to God for the next forty days and reflect on all of the sacrifices He made out of His ginormous love for you. Let's pick up our crosses together and walk by faith.
