Do you sacrifice yourself for others? Are you willing to give up your preferences in order to serve someone else? Have you given a pat on a back to someone who needed it? Do you understand what it means to sacrifice for God?
Most of us are willing to occasionally give up a preference we may have for someone we love. It often happens in good relationships by both people. We call it compromise, but it is really a sacrifice. Without sacrifice, relationships falter and even disintegrate.
We are also to sacrifice for God—not in the way the Jews sacrificed animals two thousand years ago, yet not completely dissimilar. You see, they were to sacrifice their choice animals, those without blemish. The animal was to be considered perfect. It could not be crippled. Even the hide of the animal could not be scared.
What does that mean for us today? It means we are to sacrifice of ourselves perfectly. Our sacrifice is to praise God, professing Him to others. We are to give Him the thanks He deserves. We are to glorify Him. Our praise must be genuine.
We are also to do good and share with others. This includes both giving material things to others and serving others. We may need to allow someone to use our vehicle, computer, or wear our favorite shirt. It may include stopping to help someone, even if we are in a hurry. It also means sharing the good news about Jesus with them. We are to look for opportunities to tell others that Jesus came to save the world, including them. Our goal with our sacrifice is to bring others into the kingdom of God, to convince them to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
God is please when we make these sacrifices. He loves seeing us give up our preferences to share Him with others. He wants to see us serve others as Jesus did. He wants us to tell others about Jesus. God wants to save every person and He wants us to be part of it.
I pray we all sacrifice ourselves for God. I pray we do good and share with others. I pray each one of us praise God, giving Him the thanks He deserves. Praise God. Give thanks to God. Do good for others. Share with others. Sacrifice yourself for God.
Hebrews 13:15-16 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Marty Pressey 