Sacrifice As An Act of Love

It seems that love is in short supply these days. We are willing to cut off relationships because our needs are not met. We are willing to attack opposing views because they do not agree with our own. We make demands on how other people, businesses, leaders, and politicians should act and what they should say. We seem to be unable to move from our self-centered points of view and try to understand others. And we are certainly unwilling to sacrifice our comfort as an act of love for others.

In John 15:13 Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” What are you willing to sacrifice for your friends? What are you willing to sacrifice in devotion to God? Jesus gave His life that we might receive salvation and redemption, in other words, that we might live. Can we just think for a moment about the welfare of others and show love by sacrificing a little of our comfort to meet their needs?

Strengthen Faith

We become confident in doing a task when we have repeated successful experience with that task. We may have failed the first time, and many times thereafter, but eventually we gained enough experience and knowledge to do the task well. Our confidence grew with each try.

Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” If our faith is weak, it is because we have not devoted ourselves to hearing, knowing and following the Word of God. If we have no faith, it is because we have not accepted the gift of grace given in the gospel message. Faith grows as we know the truth and use it successfully in life.

Promises That Preserve

When I was young, my dad would sometimes promise to take me to a ball game. That promise meant a lot to me and I really looked forward to the day of the game. Most of the time, my dad came through for me and fulfilled the promise, taking me to the game. But there were times, we he didn’t fulfill the promise and I was left very disappointed. When promises are kept, we gain strength and are encouraged.

Psalm 31:23-24 says, “Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.” Our God has always kept His promises. His children can trust that the Lord will keep us safe and preserve us forever. With this sure promise, we can be strong and take courage.

Preeminent

When we speak of preeminence, we are usually referring to someone being the best at what they do. For instance, we can say, “He is the preeminent guitarist in our area.” But preeminence can mean so much more. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines preeminent as “having paramount rank, dignity, or importance.” Speaking of Jesus, Paul wrote in

Colossians 1:17-18, “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” Jesus holds the preeminent position over all things. He is the firstborn from the dead, as well as the giver and sustainer of all life. We should, therefore, make sure that He is given first place in our lives. Jesus has the paramount ranking of all life, the greatest dignity, and the highest importance of all things.

Love Replaces Debt

I worked for a bank for over 20 years, so I know that banks rarely just cancel a debt. They work hard to receive back the money that they have lended. A debtor that has a debt cancelled would be extremely grateful.

In Luke 7:41-43 Jesus tells a story to reveal a truth, “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” We have incurred a debt before God that we cannot repay. He has granted mercy to those who accept His gift of salvation. It is good to remember that our debt has been paid through God’s grace. This remembrance will increase our love for Him.