What Have You Done for Him Lately?

sac-ri-fice [sak-ruh-fahys] --noun-- the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.

With the start of Lent I've been thinking about the concept of sacrifice. Sacrifice isn't something most of us are familiar with. About the only things that comes to mind for me personally are the sacrifices we make in our relationships. When the kids were little, I sacrificed pursuing some of the things that I enjoyed and desired in order to be to be more focused on them and their needs. I recognize that my husband often sacrifices going out with the guys because of the time away from home that his job requires.

Beyond these family-related concessions, I have never surrendered anything of substance. Compare that to what Christ sacrificed for us. In his book Tempted to Leave the Cross: Renewing the Call to Discipleship, author and pastor Ernest Flores writes:

"He could have called thousands of angels to free him from the cross, but because he loves us, he remained there. He didn't have to take the punishment. He didn't have to endure the suffering. He didn't have to. But because it was the only way to save us, redeem us, restore our relationship with God, he did. He took the pain. He took the bruises, the stripes, the scorn, the mockery. He did it all for you and for me."

Most of us today are blessed in so many ways that we tend to forget the high price of salvation. Our kids think money grows on trees. They expect that the newest gadgets and gizmos should be a given. And we adults aren't much better. Immediate gratification is the name of the game in our society. There are even prosperity and victory preachers out there who would have us believe that health, miracles, jobs, and financial rewards are ours simply by being faithful worshipers. Flores notes "We tend to forget that life has costs, that blessings have a cost, that all these blessings come from someplace. And we certainly tend to forget the great sacrifice that yielded a resurrected Savior."

As we enter this season of Lent I will strive to respond to Flores's challenge to be worthy of the sacrifice, to be selfless in my pursuit of what is right and good.

How will you choose to respond?