Sacrifice

I'm just wondering why we have forgotten this within the church. When was the last time we have been challenged to sacrifice something? Growing up in a culture where we are as spoiled as we are, where is the point where the church says it's not healthy to get everything we want? Jesus taught about sacrifice many times. When he asked who gave more the poor lady or the rich man. He wasn't referring to how much money did they give, but yet how much did they sacrifice for the glory of God. Cedarville had scheduled Shane Claiborne (Author of Irresistible Revolution) to speak at their school months ago. When word got out that about it parents started to complain as well as students. They didn't like the idea of a radical passivist Christian speaking at their school. They act like there is something wrong with a person who sacrifices a consumeristic way of life for something much more simple. It is sad that we as a church body refuse a person like that from speaking. I know we still have him on the schedule for Mount Vernon as of now. I'm not saying everyone has to be radicals, but is it wrong to have someone challenge who we are? How is it not Christ like to give up everything to follow God and teach people love? Is this really what the church has come to? I'll be honest, I'm not the best example of sacrifice. I've been struggling with it but it isn't an easy thing to do when you've been raised in society to fend for yourself and becoming successful is all about how many cars you have in the drive way and how big your house is. I'm not saying that Shane Claiborne is some perfect person or anything but is it wrong for a person to challenge who we are? Is it wrong for a person to challenge our motives and challenge how we love? I think the church is scared of people like this because we might have to feel uncomfortable. Christianity isn't about just going to church on Sunday or going to Chapel 3 times a week. We try to sprinkle a little Jesus in by going on a few mission trips and stuff like that, but are we really sacrificing that much? Are we really giving up our day to day lives? Christianity is about every moment, not just once a week or an hour a day. The leaders of the church in the Bible are a lot like our leaders today. They know the Bible from cover to cover and every line in between but they don't know the true meaning behind it. Jesus, a person who was ugly, poor, and lived a very simple life, came to earth to show us a new meaning of sacrifice. He didn't just sacrifice the way that normal humans lived, he gave his life for us. What more could he have possibly done? Jesus told his disciples to leave everything and follow him....they left normal jobs such as being a fisherman or a tax collector to tell people the good news. They missed the point so many times and even after years of following Jesus they weren't perfect. But Jesus instilled in them a sense of sacrifice. The phrase "this world has nothing for me" really showed in the way they lived. So being the first day of lent I guess my challenge would be to be challenged. Sacrificing is a challenge. If you give up something for lent, do it in secret so no one knows. Step outside your comfort zone never be content with your walk with God, always strive for more.

Love

I guess I have been feeling lately that a lot of people are missing the point of Christianity.....Christianity is about loving people no matter how great or how small they are. It's not about trying to be better than someone, it's about trying to be worse than they are. Love is about putting everyone else before yourself. It's so hard to show love to people in a culture that has taught us that we have to look good, be popular, dress a certain way, act a certain way. How much do your friends really love you if they only hang out with you because of these things? Love is about selflessness. It's about being a servant to people. It's about loving them because God loves them. A quote I read in a book recently really hit me about what humans define themselves by...


You Guys, you are obsessed. You have to wear certain kind of clothes, drive a certain car, speak a certain way, live in a certain neighborhood, whatever, all of it so you can be higher on an invisible hierarchy. It's an obsession! You are trying to feel right by comparing yourself to others. It is ridiculous. Who told you there was anything wrong with you in the first place? Don't you know that a human is just a human? --Donald Miller


I love this because it describes what many Christians can't seem to realize. I'm not saying it's wrong to look good or be rich or anything like that, but I can bet that most people who take these too far define themselves by these things. So, as a Christian I don't think we should strive for a status of being better than people. It's something I have struggled with for years because most churchs even say its okay. Our culture is all about looking and feeling good whether it's good for you or not.

Loving somebody goes beyond giving a few dollars to the poor or donating your old clothes that you never wear anymore to a charity. These things are great don't get me wrong, but I believe true love is taking something you truely value and giving it to someone who needs it more is showing love. Taking a coat off your own back that you wear, or taking your shoes off and showing that person that they are far more important than yourself. 

I really don't think it's wrong to be rich or have nice things, I just don't think that they should define a person. We shouldn't feel insecure without them. We shouldn't let these things get in the way of really loving everyone. Every person is beautiful because God created them. God only makes beautiful things. If you see someone who needs a shirt or a coat and you couldn't take yours off to give it to them, even though you have like three more at home, then isn't that getting in the way of truely loving someone. It's something I will admit to struggling with, I'm trying to get better at it though.

I learned that Isaiah 53:2-3 that is clearly states Jesus was not an attractive person. It says he had NO beauty or majesty...I never heard this verse before about a week ago and it shocked me. Jesus was ugly. The son of God was not majestic at all. I guess it kind of fits with everything else like him being born in a stable and all. It's just suprising because all the pictures you see of him could be on the cover of a magazine or something. 

The whole Bible is summed up in one phrase that Jesus uses "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and Love your neighbor as yourself." It's simple but yet so complex to do. It's such a tragedy that so many people study the Bible for decades and teach it to others, but miss the point. 

People desire to be loved, it's that simple...you can preach all you want to people but if you really want them to follow Jesus with their whole heart then love them no matter what and then they will ask why. 

So I guess my challenge would be to just figure out what defines who you are. I don't want to be a person who loves his possessions more than he loves others. I don't want my things to get in the way of loving people.