Another Fourth of July has come and gone and I breathe a sigh of relief that everyone still has all their fingers and their eyes. 

The festivities once again give me an opportunity to consider for a moment the freedom I get to enjoy in this great country. But sadly, that’s about all the time I usually take – a moment. Unfortunately, I don’t think I ever properly appreciate the sacrifice it took to earn this freedom. That thousands of brave young men (and women) exactly my kids’ ages have walked straight into their deaths so that my family and I can enjoy the life we live today.

Sacrifice is the act of giving up something that is valuable to you in order to help someone else. Sacrifice and freedom go hand in hand – just as they have since the beginning of time.

God explained the necessity of sacrifice to Moses in Leviticus. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement for life.” (Leviticus 17:11). He set up a whole system for His people to bring their best animals to the altar to be killed – a sacrifice necessary in order for God’s people to be righteous before Him and have freedom from their sins. 

But then, thankfully, God decided to send His Son to this earth to shed His blood and die so that we no longer have to worry about that horrific and gory ritual. How often do I appreciate the freedom I have from having to slaughter an animal? I mean, I often thank God for the gift of eternal life, but what about the freedom of the burden of constant animal sacrifices to make up for my sin!

Even though we aren’t bogged down with the job of killing animals, God still does ask us to sacrifice. Romans 12:1 says, “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship.”

Our lives are to be the sacrifice. God calls us to give up what is valuable to us in order to live lives that are pleasing to Him, as an act of worship to Him. What does that look like? 

God may be asking us to put away our desire to engage in a specific sinful behavior. He may be asking us to sacrifice our time, our money, or our resources to serve others. He may be asking us to give in to our spouses, to hold our tongues, to seek peace rather than insist on our own way. He may be asking us to forgive, or to let someone else have what we want. He may be asking us to give up valuable time to read His Word or commune with Him in prayer. And He may ask us to accept and surrender to a hard situation.

Ever since Lexi passed away, I have looked at sacrifice in a new light. Because God has asked me to sacrifice my desire to have my daughter here with me on this earth. He has asked me to give up something very valuable, and to be at peace with His will. This is the hardest sacrifice I have ever had to make. But, as Mike continually reminds me, we sacrifice our wishes of having Lexi here so she is free to experience the joys of heaven. And to surrender this to God also brings me freedom in my own life. Freedom from bitterness, anger, and resentment. Freedom to live a life of contentment and joy.

Sacrifice is hard. But it brings freedom.

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” 1 Peter 2:16