Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.” [Luke 9:23 NLT]
The redemption of man was birthed on the altar of sacrifice through Jesus. His love was appropriated with an act of sacrifice by offering Himself up for us. What is love without sacrifice?
We are in a dispensation whereby men are lovers of themselves and not God just as foretold in the scripture: “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud”. [2 Timothy 3:1-2]. But further down in verse 10, we were admonished that regardless of all these acts of self and the vices associated with the world we live in, we are to stand firm and remain faithful in what we have been taught. What is that message? The core message of Christ is love, and if we’re going to be imitators of Christ, we must be ready to put God first above all else.
Christ did nothing of Himself, but acted according to the leading of God. He was able to live a sacrificial life because He did not seek His own will but the will of His father even at the point of death. Because of this sacrifice, the Bible says “God elevated Him to the place of highest honour and gave Him a name above all name”.
The same was seen in the life of Abraham as his willingness to sacrifice his son not only provoked but also placed a seal of God’s blessings on his life. There’s always a blessing on the other side of sacrifice. It’s not foolishness to live a sacrificial life as it may sound to an unregenerated mind but we must remember that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of man.
Start living a sacrificial life today by surrendering whatever it is He requires of you. SHALOM!
CONFESSION
I declare I’m willing, empowered, engraced and strengthened to live a sacrificial life. I choose for my character and moral disposition to be free from the love of money, greed and lust. I’m a lover of God and I seek first His kingdom and righteousness. I give up my own way and I surrender to God’s will. AMEN!
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