Sacrifice

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious Sunday afternoon. How is it possible that today is the last day of November?

 

I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My Beautiful Bride and I did, getting to spend a very special time with our youngest Tender Warrior.

 

Before jumping into the message I want to share this week, I want to share my new favorite quote for Thanksgiving:

 

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” – Henry David Thoreau.

 

This week’s Happy Friday is not so much a message I want to deliver as a journey of learning, growing, and understanding that I want to invite you along with me. At some point last week, I was listening to a sermon by Victoria Osteen where she mentioned the word “sacrifice.” I don’t remember exactly what she said; however, it was something along the lines of, “If it were something we wanted to do, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice.” I have thought a lot about what sacrifice means and what it looks like since then.

 

Here is how Merriam-Webster.com defines sacrifice:

1a: the act of giving up or losing something of value for the sake of something else

1b: something of value given up or lost for the sake of something else

2a: an act of offering to a deity something precious

2b: something offered in sacrifice

 

This morning, I wrapped up a Bible Study plan from Impactus Men’s Ministry titled "God’s Design For Men." Chris Walker wrote the plan. The 29^th day of the plan is titled “Loving Men.” I want to share a few excerpts of this Bible Study with you all, and while it is written specifically for men, I am highly confident we can all glean useful information from it.

 

“If we love like Jesus did, we are called to sacrifice for the sake of those we love, even if our ‘dying’ is symbolic instead of literal.”

 

“Biblical love is sacrifice. Jesus died for us, and men need to ‘die’ for those they love, too.”

 

“Men are at their best when they live a life of other-centered, self-sacrificing love. When this love motivates this action, men do tremendous good in the world, and for the right reasons.”

 

“God’s design for men is that we, too, would live our lives motivated by love, putting others first, sacrificing for their sake, and, in so doing, glorifying God and making the world a better place by our actions.”

 

I will close with a scripture from the plan:

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. – 1 John 3:16

 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinflruencebe.com.

 

Have a great afternoon, a wonderful week, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!

 

Kev