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SCRIPTURE READINGS: GENESIS 22:1-14, ROMANS 6:12-23, MATTHEW 10:40-42

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “Sacrificial life.” A sacrificial life means dedicating one’s life and all that one has to the service of God and humanity. A sacrificial life also means following the perfect example of Christ in pleasing God. In our reflection, we shall examine the following facts,

1. Living a sacrificial life demonstrates our faithfulness, obedience and reverence for God.
2. Living a sacrificial life sets us on the path of righteousness.
3. Living a sacrificial life makes us experience the blessings and providence of God.

First, a sacrificial life demonstrates our faithfulness, obedience and reverence for God. How do we prove our faithfulness, obedience and loyalty to our superior, boss or employer at work? Usually, It is by sacrificing our time and the willingness to go the extra mile in offering our services even beyond official working hours to prove that we are loyal and obedient to him or her. Similarly, Abraham proved his faithfulness, obedience and reverence to God by obeying His command to sacrifice his only son. God sometimes tests our faithfulness, obedience and reverence for Him through our willingness to live a sacrificial life. Abraham was found to be faithful, obedient and fearful of the Lord when He did as he was told by God without any excuse or complaint. “9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” (Genesis 22:9-12). Dear friend, we may not be required to sacrifice our children to God to prove our faithfulness, obedience and reverence to God in our time or era but God expect us to use our time, resources, and our very lives in living a sacrificial life that pleases Him. Beloved in the Lord, are you truly living a sacrificial life for God? Like Abraham, would you also be told by the angel, “Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your time, wealth and life? (my own emphasis). Have you been sacrificing your time and resources for the mission or work of God? Most often than not, when it comes to our businesses and personal endeavours, we devote ample time and resources to them, but when it comes to living a sacrificial life for God, we usually give excuses. Do we not give excuses such as “I am too tired to go to church”, or “I feel bodily pains so I am not going to church”, meanwhile from Monday to Friday we go to work or go about doing our business with the same bodily pains, “I don’t have money to give at church, therefore, I am not going to show up at Church”, yet we have money for Superbet, lotto, abortion, wild parties and other things which are not the will of God for our lives. Joshua was ready to live a sacrificial life, therefore, he said unequivocally to the Israelites, “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) To live a sacrificial life, Jesus admonishes us that “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” (Mark 12:30). We can only serve God when we have life and strength. Let us be faithful to Him even as we live a sacrificial life. “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”— Ecclesiastes 12:1

Second, living a sacrificial life set us on the path of righteousness. A sacrificial life enables us to dedicate our body to the service of God thereby living a righteous life. Paul makes this point clear when he wrote that “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ¹³ Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:12-14) Again Paul admonishes us that “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We have been further admonished by Paul when he wrote that “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2) Dear friend, living a sacrificial life is dedicating our whole body to God as a living sacrifice devoid of sin.

Third, Living a sacrificial life makes us experience the blessings and providence of God. We discover that anyone who dedicates his or her life to serving God experiences the blessings and providence of God. Abraham obeyed God when he was asked to sacrifice his son, on the way, “Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” (Genesis 22:7-8). At the right time, God provided the animal needed for the Sacrifice “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. (Genesis 22:13) Dear friend, we have an assurance to respond to the call of God by living a sacrificial life, for God will bless and provide our needs on the way. Again, Jesus assures us that whatever we sacrifice on account of His name in the furtherance of God’s mission shall be rewarded. ““Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. ⁴¹ The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42) In other words, whoever sacrifices for the servant of the Lord shall be rewarded, It is for this reason Paul wrote that “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8) Beloved in the Lord, we must serve and serve diligently therefore, ” Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

In summary, we have deliberated on the theme “Sacrificial life” We discovered the following facts in our reflection on the theme; Living a sacrificial life demonstrates our faithfulness, obedience and reverence for God, Living a sacrificial life sets us on the path of righteousness, last but not least, living a sacrificial life makes us experience the blessings and providence of God. May the Holy Spirit empower us to continually live a sacrificial life so that when our Lord Jesus Christ returns the second time, we shall be found worthy of our calling as good and faithful servants. Amen.