Sacrifice – the act of giving up something that is valuable to you in order to help someone else, or for a greater good. 

Do we ever stop to realize that sacrifice is the very heart of the Bible and truly the essence of Christian faith? 

It starts early on, in the third chapter of the Bible, when Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, and animals sacrificed their lives in order to provide coats of skin for them. 

We know that right away God valued and expected sacrifice when He favored the fruit of Abel’s work over that of Cain’s. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God’s people sacrificing in order to honor, worship, and express gratitude to Him. And in Leviticus, God clearly spells out His purpose and expectation when it comes to sacrifice: the shedding of blood is necessary to atone for sin (Lev. 17:11). God gave specific details explaining the different types of offerings of grain, birds, animals, etc. and how each would provide forgiveness and restoration. In order for people to be right with God, animals had to die. Blood equals life, and the shedding of blood equals atonement.

This sets the stage for the ultimate sacrifice when, hundreds of years later, Jesus, the Son of God, sacrificed Himself and shed His blood to atone for the sin of His people once and for all.

It is because of this amazing sacrifice on our behalf that we have salvation and the ability to live forever with God. So what does this mean for us as Christians?

You guessed it… sacrifice! As Christians, our lives should reflect the sacrificial life of our Savior.

First, we are called to sacrifice for God. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”

The way this verse is worded really hits home – often praising God IS a sacrifice. When we are struggling through loss or tough times, preoccupied with the stresses of life, or just feeling depressed or blah, praise often doesn’t feel like a priority or even a possibility. This is when it takes real effort and deliberate intention. It takes sacrifice. We push through those feelings and give up our own wants and desires to give God our time, our honor, our prayers, and our praise. We deliberately look for ways to “openly profess His name.” We find ways to be thankful and give God the credit. We share how God is working in our lives with other people. This is the sacrifice of praise we are called to carry out – continually!

Secondly, we are called to sacrifice for others. The next verse,16, says “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifice God is pleased.”

I am realizing more and more how this does not come naturally to me. I don’t like for my world to be interrupted or inconvenienced. I would rather keep more for myself than share with others. I’m fine doing good – as long as it doesn’t come at a cost to me. But we are called to go out of our way, to give up what is valuable or important to us, to go above and beyond with our time, energy, and money, in order to help and benefit others. Why? “With such sacrifice, God is pleased.” 

And, interestingly, how often does it happen that when we do put aside our own wishes to make praising God a priority or to serve others, it ends up bringing us joy? 

God, help me to be sacrificial in my mindset. Let your praise continually be on my lips, even when it is hard. Let me not ignore opportunities to help others, even when it comes at a cost to me. What are you calling me to do, to give, to share?