Sacrifice and Love - Sunday July 06, 2014
And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23
I have a reputation for liking football. Being from Texas, football was my birthright! But more than liking football, I enjoy and love my children. I would do anything for them, which for a time included watching Sunday afternoon football with my son (hardly a sacrifice!). Unfortunately, sometimes my other children felt neglected. Because Mommy watched a "boring game" and "ignored" them during the big plays, some came to hate the game. I stopped watching much football in order to spend undistracted time with my family. Because I love my children, I would do anything for them-even sacrifice football!
Self-denial is a means to a greater goal-demonstrating love. For me, I wasn't trying to deprive myself of football. I just wanted to love my family. Sometimes we mistakenly think of "self-denial" as a spiritual goal in itself. But self-imposed rules for sacrificial living don't gain favor with God nor curb fleshly desires. "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch...have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion...but are of no value against fleshly indulgence" (Colossians 2:21,23).
If you desire to "deny yourself and take up your cross daily," then focus on the needs of others. On His cross, Jesus was not self-focused; He wasn't pursuing religious-driven self-denial like we often do. Jesus sacrificed Himself because of His great desire for relationship with you! What is the "cross" that you can take up daily? You can show love to someone even when it means self-denial.
Submitted by:
Rita Bergen
Cornerstone Community Church
Overland Park, Kansas
One-Year Reading Plan:
1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4
Acts 24:1-27
Psalms 4:1-8
Proverbs 18:16-18
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