Sacrifice means committing your ways, thoughts, and actions to God. It means loving God with everything you have and being willing to love others. When we love others like God does we will see them through his eyes and be willing to make sacrifices for them.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:30-31 (NIV)

Jesus and his ministry is the perfect example of sacrifice in how he always putting his father first and served others. Jesus time on earth was full of sacrifice, the perfect example is him washing the feet of his disciples. A lowly job of a servant and yet he sacrificed time and his position to get down on his hands and knees and wash the feet of his followers. Even Judas who he knew would go on to betray him (John 13:1-17).

Jesus then eventually went on to make the ultimate sacrifice in giving his life on the cross, carrying out his fathers will and providing us all with a way to have our sins forgiven and our relationship with God redeemed.

We too are called to give our lives to God. Our sacrifice means the laying down our old ways, our own thoughts, desires and plans and follow God. When we do this, God is able to do exceedingly more than we could image. Just look at the life of Moses.

God met Moses at the burning bush, when God shared the job he had for Moses he came up with multiple excuses. But God simply asked him what he had in his hand. All he had was his staff.

This staff was a common tool used by shepherds to help them mind their animals, but it was so much more than a simple tool.

It represented his identity as a shepherd, it was his income, and his influence as he influenced the animals to do what he needed using the staff. But when God asked, he threw it on the ground at the burning bush. He threw it at the feet of God, and it came alive, but in his hand, it became deadwood.

What you have in your hand, sacrifice it to God, hand it over. Lay it at his feet and watch as he brings it alive.

The staff then went on to turn the Nile from water to blood, split the dead sea in two to allow the Israelites to escape Egypt and bring water from a rock.

What could God do with the things you have yet to sacrifice?

Written by Stephen Crawford