Guest blogger - Alexis Zosel

Hello, potential reader! Buckle up because this is kind of a long ride...

Something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is sacrifice.

After googling the word “sacrifice” to offer you guys a “professional” definition to dwell on, I continually kept coming upon a definition speaking to the idea of offering something (material possessions, human lives, animal lives, etc.) to a god or deity before any other definition. I actually had to search for the definition I want to offer you: to surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else (brought to you by the one and only dictionary.com!).

When I think of sacrifice, that is what I think of — something active, taking action to do (or not do) something that you would rather not. But every sacrifice made is made for a reason. Something is going to be taken from you, yes, but this is always for the sake of something else, something better.

The well being of our lives depends on our ability to sacrifice.

I have been learning just how true this statement really is. It makes a lot of sense. We can’t be in a relationship, any strong relationship really, without sacrifice — people are too different and have varying needs and circumstances for a healthy relationship to exist without sacrifice from both ends. Further, sometimes we need to sacrifice things in our own lives for the good of ourselves. Certain things we may unhealthily love could be holding us back from much greater things, and I think it is really easy for us to become blind or purposefully ignorant to this.

Sacrificing for the sake of another can take many forms. Sometimes it’s sacrificing a little bit of your time to go pick up a friend when she asks for a ride last minute, even if you think she should have just planned better so you wouldn’t be put in this situation or you don't understand why you have to be the one to pick her up. Sometimes it’s sacrificing your pride to forgive someone even when you know you’re right for the sake of saving a friendship. Sometimes it looks like sacrificing your Friday night plans to be with a friend who is hurting from a breakup.

God may also call us to sacrifice things in our own lives for the sake of ourselves. This might be giving up social media for a while because it has caused you to place all your sense of worth in what other people think of you rather than God’s biblical truths about you. It could be exchanging the time you would usually give yourself to re-watch the next two episodes of Gilmore Girls to go tutor kids struggling in your best subject (this would have a more significant impact on you as well as a positive impact on the kids). Maybe you need to sacrifice your vulnerability for the sake of getting better — maybe you are feeling depressed and it’s affecting your day to day life, but you don’t want to tell your parents because you’re scared of being vulnerable with them and how they might see you after you tell them; but you know once you tell them, they can help possibly set you up with a therapist and help you take steps to getting better.

I know I personally struggle with sacrifice all the time, especially when I feel God is asking me to unreasonably sacrifice something. But I am learning and I am growing and I can feel myself becoming more like Christ with each sacrifice I make. I am beginning to recognize that not wanting to sacrifice when you know God is calling you to stems from a very self- centered mindset that I often find myself guilty of. I prioritize myself over everyone else far too often, even in just little things that seem like they shouldn’t matter. Christ calls us to prioritize people, specifically other people, over everything else, even when it doesn’t make sense to us. Jesus does this all throughout the gospels.

Let’s think back to the example of sacrificing our time to give a friend a ride. This is just a tiny example of the kind of dying to self Christ asks of us. We might sacrifice this time because we care about the person, of course, but even more so, we sacrifice this time to show the love of Christ — a kind of love that comes through even when we may think the situation is unfair or that someone else should sacrifice their time or gas money to go pick up this friend. And we only find the will power to show this kind of love through our connection with Christ and the spirit He puts in us when we ask and yearn for it. This can apply to any sacrifice we might make.

Making sacrifices becomes something we desire to do because we know it will please God. And the more time we spend saturated in the Word and alone with the Father, the more we become like Christ, and the easier it is to sacrifice. What a beautiful way God has offered us to follow through with his calling!

And of course, when I speak of sacrifice, I don’t mean making unnecessary sacrifices for no good reason than to just upset ourselves because “God likes sacrifice and taking things away from us” (e.g. depriving yourself of chocolate just for the sake of depriving yourself because God is pleased by sacrifice). I mean making purposeful sacrifices because you know they will show the unconditional love of Christ to another or allow yourself to better access Christ within you. So, for example, if you feel a sacrifice of chocolate would allow you to better connect with the Father because you spend so much time thinking about chocolate and depriving yourself of that might encourage you to focus your thoughts more toward Christ, then go on and sacrifice chocolate! I’m sure God would love that. But if you don’t think chocolate is a huge issue for you, enjoy your chocolate! God wants us to enjoy good things, He just wants us to be aware of things that may be holding us back from living a radical life in His name!

Further, when I speak of sacrifice and putting others before yourself, of course I do not mean make others such a priority that you are completely drained and not taking care of yourself. You cannot be effective in loving and caring for other people if you are not properly taking care of and loving yourself. There is a balance that must be found. We on our own have a limited amount of love and patience (and all the other fruits of the spirit) to offer others, but when we allow Jesus to really fill us, He will fill us so much that we are full and overflowing, with extra love we just have to (and want to) go out and pour into others!

Think about the gospel — Christ’s love for all of humanity was shown through an ultimate sacrifice. We could not receive God’s love and peace and joy without that sacrifice. We would have no access to Heaven. No eternal, greater hope. No true meaning in life or love that will not fail us to turn to when the things of this world begin tearing at our seams. The fruits of the spirit could not properly manifest themselves in us if it were not for the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Our hearts and our souls would continuously be slaves to this world. The greatest gift God gave us and is still actively giving us is the sacrifice of his Son on that cross.

And that sacrifice was not easy for Jesus or for God.

Imagine the pain of seeing your one, perfect son live through all the hardship of a human life with perfect grace and love offered to everyone he met, all the while being treated like the scum of the earth — hated, betrayed, called a liar and an imposter, plotted against, wanted dead by many — and then to top all of it off, he must finish his earthly life by being nailed to a cross and tortured to death as a public display while people basked in his death and enjoyed watching him die. And then think about the fact that God knew all of this would happen to his son when He sent him down to earth, and God could have intervened, of course, but knows that He can’t for the sake of the world.

Now imagine being that person that experienced all those things. Jesus knew the plan from the start as well — he knew this is what the Father had planned to save humanity. He knew this is what had to happen, and it hurt. It hurt so bad — Jesus wept. Jesus had to spend a lot of time alone with God to deal with all the pain he was experiencing, as fully God but also fully man at the same time. But Jesus was okay with making this sacrifice because of his perfect love for the world, for you and for me. Jesus knew the Father’s way was the best way, even if it wasn’t going to be easy. He knew nothing truly good could come without sacrifice after what happened with Adam and Eve in Eden.

Odds are most of us will not have to give our life or our son or daughter’s life for the sake of the kingdom (although this isn’t out of the realm of possibilities), but I believe God does desire sacrifice from us on a daily basis. And He asks this of us for the furthering of His kingdom — for a greater good, a greater purpose. This is just another way he wants to use us as an instrument. And this may be a messy process and it may not be easy or always perfect, and there will definitely be times when you goof, but it’s a learning process and such a necessary process. And the fruit will be good.

Remember how I said when I searched the word “sacrifice,” it took me a while to get to the definition I liked? And the internet kept trying to give me the definition of sacrificing to a god or deity? I think it’s interesting that before anything else, sacrifice was continually defined as specifically offering something to God (or a god). Because ultimately, this is why we sacrifice. Yes, for other reasons as well, but before anything or anyone else, the main reason we sacrifice is because it is pleasing to God, and this is a way in which we can further His kingdom. And thank God for the beautiful, messy, hard process of sacrificing because it ultimately brings about such beautiful things we may never have even been able to imagine before.