Christmas.
A season of rejoicing. A season of sacrifice. Have you ever stopped to think about how much God gave up when He sent His Son to earth, not just for a moment, but for a period of 33 years?
What love that must have took. What a gift He gave.
I have been pondering this lately. In what ways is God asking me to sacrifice for Him? Not for my benefit, but for His glory.
I feel like God has laid it on my heart to give more financially, whether it be through random acts of kindness to a stranger; putting change or a dollar into a Salvation Army kettle; by taking part in a Christmas project or by sending money to my favorite non-profit organization. There are countless opportunities around me and I want to make sure that I don't just let them pass by, even when Christmas is over. Do I ever give till it hurts- sacrificial giving? God has blessed me abundantly and He desires that I, that we, be good stewards of those blessings.
Has God ever asked you sacrifice people that you care about to His care? I know it has happened to me several times and when it does, it involves pain and even tears. But that happened to our Father as well, so why shouldn't it happen to us?
I recently came across an Oswald Chambers quote that summed this up pretty well:
"If it was God's will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn't He bruise you?"
Being bruised makes us tender, but I believe that is part of the process, part of the sacrificing.
A sacrifice is: the giving up of something valuable; to make an offering to God.
God has given us so much by sending His Son to earth. What can I, what can we, offer in return?
this was challenging. i definitely need to practice this more often. thanks for sharing this
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