The Depth of Sacrifice

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1 ESV)

Every day we hear of sacrifices. Soldiers who fall on explosives to save others, firefighters rushing into burning buildings never to exit, police officers who face armed men and women, and ordinary people who sacrifice themselves for others. It is amazing.

Most of the time, these sacrifices are not planned. They are urgent, spur-of-the-moment decisions that require courage and selflessness. There's no time to think of the outcome, only the immediate need. It's a decision of the heart, made in the heat of the moment.

Let me ask you again: Could you walk into a situation knowing you were going to die, and not only do it but agree to do it without question? Could you? Would you?

Paul is asking us to sacrifice ourselves for the Lord. He is asking us to forgo all that comes naturally to us, including our sinfulness. Paul is asking you to devote yourself to Christ. He is asking us to worship God above all things. We are asked to deny ourselves, which is not easy for us.

Jesus is God. He was with the Father and the Spirit before creation. (Genesis 1) Knowing all, seeing all, depending on nothing, eternal never to die have never been created but existing forever.

Jesus emptied himself, not of His deity, but by addition. (Philippians 2) Being 100% God, He took on the form of a servant by addition in human form. 100% became 200% by addition of the flesh of humanity. We know Jesus remained God evidenced by the transfiguration on Mt. Tabor. Here, Jesus pulled back His curtain of humanity to reveal His deity.

Despite being God, Christ willingly came in the incarnation to earth. The Creator walked among his creation. (John 1) Jesus knew fully what would happen. He knew the pain and torture, He knew the bleeding and dehydration, He knew the crown of thorns, the mocking, being spit upon. He knew the death. I can only imagine, worst of all, that He knew of His impending separation from God, which would bring about the propitiation for human sin. Jesus did it anyway, a sacrifice of such magnitude that it's beyond human comprehension.

I can only see through the scriptures that His reason was twofold. One, only a human, He also being God, could pay for human sin. Secondly, only God could withstand the wrath of God. Jesus experienced that pain and suffering as a human. He felt the pain, the nails searing through His body, the suffocation of the crucifixion, and the aloneness of separation, but He did it anyway. Honestly, ask yourself, could you do that? Knowing all that we know about the Passion of the Christ, would you do that?

Christ died not just for the world, but for you personally. His sacrifice was not just an act of atonement, but a declaration of His love for you. He died so that you may live an eternal life in an eternal body, glorifying God for eternity.

What will you do? Will you heed Paul's plea? Will you entrust your faith in the Messiah and seek salvation through Him? The decision is urgent, it's pressing, and there's no guarantee of tomorrow. What will you do?

Grace and Peace.