Sacrifice or something else?

Sacrifice is a prominent topic in Christian culture, especially in this week we call Holy Week.  We say that as Jesus sacrificed his life, so too, in the likeness of Jesus that we were created, we are called to sacrifice.  While this may be accurate at face value for us collectively, I think that we often mistake what that looks like for us individually.

When Jesus went to the cross He sacrificed his physical life.  What he didn’t sacrifice was his identity. In fact, by going to the cross, He lived into His identity by fulfilling His unique and specific call to that kind of sacrifice.  Be assured that whenever God calls us to sacrifice our time, talent or resources, it will not negate or diminish who we are but reveal who we are uniquely created to be.  When we sacrifice for others we are not saying that we have less value but that others have equal value.  Jesus was not diminished in who He was by His sacrifice, but instead revealed His authority by illuminating our value.  He gave up His physical life so we could obtain freedom - not just one future day in heaven but in our lives right now!

Both Romans 12 and Philippians 2 urge us to consider the value of the other that is initiated in knowing our own value, not dismissing it.  Just like Phil. 2:6 states in The Mirror, “His (Jesus’) being God’s equal in form and likeness was official; His Sonship did not steal the limelight from His Father!  Neither did His humanity distract from the deity of God!”  We are compelled to sacrifice - not obligated.  Religiosity demands sacrifice in any format to meet a standard while our relationship with the Creator sets the standard for sacrifice that is carried out in being our authentic selves, enacting our unique calling.  Any sacrifice God calls you to will be identified by the life that flows from it.