Sacrifice: Just a Spoonful of Sugar

Read Romans 12:1-2

This week’s focus for iDevo is “Sacrifice.”  BEFORE you go running for the hills, just hear us out and learn a little about it.  That “dirty little word” isn’t so bad…. I promise.  When I hear "sacrifice," my first thought is being miserable from giving up everything I want.  Sacrifice to God means something different. 

Sacrifice in the Bible takes many different forms. Sometimes it’s a payment for something done wrong (Old Testament sacrifices), sometimes it’s laying down one’s physical life for a greater purpose (as Christ did for us), sometimes it’s choosing to do something God’s way instead of our own.

The thing is, “sacrifice,” in all its forms, is a TRADE - trading what seems good in the moment for what really IS good for us now and in eternity. It's God’s good for us.  Romans 12:1-2 is WELL KNOWN: “present your bodies as living sacrifices….be transformed by the renewing of your mind…so you will know what is the will of God”  We all know that, in the end, God’s will for us is far better than what we can plan for ourselves. If we want God’s best, it starts with putting Him first in everything we do.  This is sacrifice - putting our own ideas and thoughts second to God’s love and desire for us. 

In every choice you face today, choose to take a moment and line it up with God’s will.  Sometimes his will leads us to continue in what we are already doing, and sometimes it steers us in a new direction.  Take a moment to discover and choose His will for you today.  And you won’t be disappointed. It may seems a bit like icky medicine to swallow, but it goes down easy with the spoon-full of sugar of God’s blessings and ultimate good in our life and eternity.