Sacrifice of Choice
“Always guard against self-chosen service for God; self-sacrifice may be a disease.” ~ Oswald Chambers
“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” ~ Genesis 22:2
What is your sacrifice of choice? What one thing would you be willing to give up for the promise of something better?
How often we think of sacrifice this way. We all have these trade-offs in our mind – the things we think we really need/deserve/want, and the things we might be willing to give up if the trade seems equitable. Think about it, though. Is it really sacrifice, if we get something we want by giving up something we probably didn’t need in the first place?
How often do we use this with God? How often do we pray “God, if you would give me this one thing, answer this one prayer, heal this one illness, I’ll give up ________ for You.” We want to choose our sacrifice. We want to give so that it doesn’t hurt.
What do you think God wants? What do you think He requires?
He asks that we truly sacrifice. To receive the things He has in store for us, He wants us to give until it hurts. He wants us to give where it hurts. He wants us to look to the cross – to the gift that none of us deserve, and that none of us, if we’re honest, would EVER be willing to give.
He wants us to realize that to truly sacrifice, we have to be willing to give up the things that HE chooses, not the things that WE choose.
God offers us the promise of something better. He offers us a life that we could never, and will never, have on our own. But to see the reality of His promise, we have to decide:
What is your sacrifice of choice?
