Sacrifice
Originally scheduled for
May 24
Have
you ever considered the motivation for ordinary human beings to make
sacrifices?
Sometimes
we do it for those we love. Grandparents have been known to be extravagant
towards their grandchildren.
Sometimes
we do it to obtain some good thing – we save money for a college education, for
example.
Occasionally,
we sacrifice to honor someone or something – a gift given “in honor of”
someone, given as a token of our respect and admiration for that person, for
example.
Often,
it’s simply “the right thing to do.” We pay our bills on time despite the
thought that we might like to use the money for something else.
Jesus
had much the same set of motivations in his sacrifice at the Cross:
Sacrifice
for love? Indeed, so great is God’s love for us that he gave his only son as a
sacrifice for our sins.
Sacrifice
to obtain some good thing? It is by Christ’s sacrifice at the cross that he
obtained the church, the “bride of Christ.”
Was
that sacrifice in honor of someone? Indeed, Christ honored the Father by being
obedient to him, even obedient to death.
Was
it “the right thing to do?” From before the beginning of time this was
planned; from the earliest sections of Scripture it was prophesied. Though
Christ asked to avoid the cross if possible, his prayer showed he knew the
right thing: “not my will, but yours.”
Therefore,
when you remember Christ’s sacrifice by taking this Communion, remember the
great love which moved him. Remember that he provided the church, so that you
would not be alone. As you remember, honor God by your obedience to him. And
do so until, as prophesied, he comes again.
