Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice—his perfect, sinless life—so that we would be forgiven and restored in relationship with God. This sacred act calls us to align our hearts with his and give sacrificially in response.
The Weight of Sacrifice
Barbara and I this past week took my dad to New Orleans to visit the World War II Museum. We spent a couple of days on the road going and coming, and then two full days in the museum. If you’ve never been and you have interest in World War II, you should go. It is worth the price and it is worth spending two full days.
The museum focuses on a particular time frame—specifically between the years of 1934 and 1945. Our involvement in the war began in 1941, but there was war going on before we got involved as a nation. The stories told in that museum are quite sobering. You hear individuals share their own experiences, and most of those folks would have since died. It is wonderful to have that preservation of their stories and to hear them.
The word you hear over and over again is sacrifice. And aptly so—millions of people sacrificed their lives during World War II. More people died during that war than any other war in the history of the world. Some sacrificed by choice, some were killed against their will. But you keep hearing these same words about sacrifice, usually preceded by an adjective: ultimate. They gave the ultimate sacrifice.
Tomorrow, being Memorial Day, it is a day to remember the sacrifice of those who gave their lives in all wars. But while we honor that profound loss, I want to put things in a different perspective.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
We are truly here because of the ultimate sacrifice. That is not to denounce the millions who gave their lives during World War II. It is, however, to recognize that while they gave their physical lives—and Jesus certainly gave his physical life—the repercussions of what Jesus did far exceed. We are here today to remember the sacrifice of the one who was perfect in all ways, sinless. The one who sacrificed his position in heaven so that he could come to earth. The one who sacrificed so that he would serve. And the one who sacrificed his life so that we would have our sins forgiven.
As Mark tells us, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. We celebrate that sacrifice. It was not warranted. We did nothing to warrant it. We did nothing that deserved it. And Jesus voluntarily came so that we could be forgiven.
In that moment of communion, we hold the bread and affirm our belief: in God the Father, in Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the crucifixion, in the resurrection, and that our sins have been forgiven. We believe that we will see Jesus one day.
Thank you is inadequate, and yet it is what we have to offer. But more than words, we want our hearts to align in gratitude as well. Thank you, Jesus, for sacrificing your position in heaven to come and be with us. Thank you for sacrificing to walk among us and show us how to live. Thank you for the ultimate sacrifice that brought forgiveness and restored our relationship with God.
Billions have shed blood over the centuries. The shedding of blood happens when there is violence or unexpected tragedy. But it is in the shedding of your blood, Jesus, that brought us forgiveness. One by one, we have all come to the cross and allowed your blood to set us free. One by one, we have expressed our desire not only to have the blood cleanse us, but to share in it. And once again today, we pledge and affirm that we will take up our cross and go with you wherever you take us. Thank you for the privilege and the honor to bear your cross.
Sacrifice as Sacred
The word sacrifice in our language comes from two Latin words. When you put those two words together, we translate it as sacrifice, but the word literally means to do something sacred. To do something sacred.
Other than utilizing the word to talk about laying down a bunt so that a runner can advance in baseball—which I do not think is sacred—when we use the word sacrifice, we tend not to think about sacred things. We think about giving something that we value away or doing without. Rarely do we connect it to the sacred.
When we use the term sacrifice to talk about our giving, it is an appropriate word. For in our giving, we are doing something sacred. Giving is more than just giving money. Of course, there is energy and time involved. But it takes on a new light when you recognize that whatever you are sacrificing is aligning yourself with God. He had the heart, as we saw in Jesus, to do something sacred, to give it away.
So giving is more than just handing over resources. It is to align with the heart of God, the sacred, the holy. There are so many who lack, and there are so many who have plenty. And whichever category we fall into or perceive ourselves to fall into, you have called us to sacrifice, to take up our cross every day and to follow you, but also to give away because our heart looks like yours. We give today and anytime we give—to align our hearts with you, to demonstrate that you have made us holy, and to give because you are a great giver.
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