Check back soon
Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.
As our church continues its pursuit to “Advance the Harvest” a quote that has been often used is “Equal Sacrifice, Not Equal Gifts.” While each of us is given varying degrees of resources whereby we are able to use toward the mission of the church, each of us is also constrained to make personal sacrifices. In fact, Scripture relays that it is not the amount of the gift to which God is most concerned, but rather the amount of the sacrifice. The following story (by author Dave Simmons) illustrates the kind of sacrifice to which God calls each of us for His purposes.
I took Helen (eight years old) and Brandon (five years old) to the Cloverleaf Mall in Hattiesburg to do a little shopping. As we drove up, we spotted a Peterbilt eighteen-wheeler parked with a big sign on it that said, "Petting Zoo." The kids jumped up in a rush and asked, "Daddy, Daddy. Can we go? Please. Please. Can we go?"
"Sure," I said, flipping them both a quarter before walking into Sears. They bolted away, and I felt free to take my time looking for a scroll saw. A petting zoo consists of a portable fence erected in the mall with about six inches of sawdust and a hundred little furry baby animals of all kinds. Kids pay their money and stay in the enclosure enraptured with the squirmy little critters while their moms and dads shop.
A few minutes later, I turned around and saw Helen walking along behind me. I was shocked to see she preferred the hardware department to the petting zoo. Recognizing my error, I bent down and asked her what was wrong.
She had given Brandon her quarter, and no one loves cuddly furry creatures more than Helen. She had watched Sandy take my steak and say, "Love is Action!" She had watched both of us do and say "Love is Action!" for years around the house and Kings Arrow Ranch. She had heard and seen "Love is Action," and now she had incorporated it into her little lifestyle. It had become part of her.
What do you think I did? Well, not what you might think. As soon as I finished my errands, I took Helen to the petting zoo. We stood by the fence and watched Brandon go crazy petting and feeding the animals. Helen stood with her hands and chin resting on the fence and just watched Brandon. I had fifty cents burning a hole in my pocket; I never offered it to Helen, and she never asked for it.
Because she knew the whole family motto. It's not "Love is Action." It's "Love is SACRIFICIAL Action!" Love always pays a price. Love always costs something. Love is expensive. When you love, benefits accrue to another's account. Love is for you, not for me. Love gives; it doesn't grab. Helen gave her quarter to Brandon and wanted to follow through with her lesson. She knew she had to taste the sacrifice. She wanted to experience that total family motto. Love is sacrificial action.
As we “Advance the Harvest” together, the sacrifices each of us make for the Kingdom will vary. However, each of us is called to costly sacrifice, for this is the only sacrifice which is worthy of our Savior. “I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord My God that costs me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24).
Sacrificing for the Harvest,
Jason