Saturday, May 10, 2008

Sacrifice

I've been thinking about sacrifice a lot lately. (Probably because it is Lent). I think that, unfortunately, Lent has slightly commercialized sacrifice. We tend to see Lent as time to give up something we enjoy in order to prepare ourselves for Christ's death and resurrection. Lent is that time. However, it is also something more. Lent is an opportunity to change and reform our lives. Lent is time for us to grow in the ways we sacrifice so that we are able to sacrifice in deeper ways throughout the year. A lot of times sacrifice seems illogical. It is true that it goes against human nature. Giving up something we enjoy for a greater good is not typical human tendency. However, we are called to rise above those tendencies into greater truth. In reality, sacrifice is one of the most logical things we can do. Every time we sacrifice something, we are saying that God and God's plan are more important to us than our wants and our plans. Sacrifice says that we trust God. Sacrifice allows us to clear out something in ourselves to make more room for God in our lives. Behind every visible sign of every sacrifice there lies deep spiritual truth. That truth tells us that God knows best. That truth is something that Abraham understood when he took his son up the mountain to sacrifice him for God. That action was Abraham saying God's plan is better than my own. Abraham had a plan for him and his son. He waited a long time to have a son. He was old, and his son was a big help. Abraham was counting on his son in the future. However, when God asked Abraham to make the sacrifice, he was willing to do so. This is because he knew that despite the wonderful plan he thought he had, God's plan was better. That truth is something the Israelites in Exodus didn't even come close to understanding. God asked them to spend three days sacrificing and preparing themselves to meet him face to face. They couldn't do it. They didn't see how God's plan was better. Consequently, they missed out on a powerful physical encounter with God. That truth is something that Jesus understood to the highest degree when he sacrificed himself on the cross. He didn't have to do it. He could have gotten down. He could have run away. During the agony in the garden Jesus shows us what true trust in God looks like. He prayed that God's will be done over his own. Then, on the cross, he showed us what true sacrifice looks like. We are called to sacrifice in the same ways. We are called to choose God's will over our own. This Lent, while we are making sacrifices, let's focus on how these sacrifices will allow God to guide our lives. Let's focus on how we need to learn to constantly allow God's plan to prevail over our own.

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