Just a thought on “offering and sacrifice”
I came across this nugget of truth while reading a book. A simple story but what a profound truth! Ephesians 5:1, 2 reads like this.
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children, And walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” (KJV)
The believer follows God, first by becoming a follower of God. This is a very important decision that a person makes in his life. It means that he is gonna be loyal to a person of Jesus Christ the rest of his life. He can then sing aloud that I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, the world behind me and the cross before me. Thus he makes himself get detached from the things of the world and get attached with God. It’s a matter of detach and attach. Where is our attachment today?
Secondly, by loving as Christ loved. His love is pure and selfless. The hardest thing for any person to do is to deny his selfish desires and offer his life as a sacrifice. All of us can relate to the following story:
Once upon a time a Pig and a Chicken went for a walk together down the main street of town. As they were walking they were talking. The chicken noticed a sign in the restaurant that looked like a pretty good deal to him. “Hey pig. Look at that sign in the window: ‘Ham and eggs – all that you can eat.’ That’s a great deal.” The pig paused for a moment while he carefully chose his words. “A good deal you say. Well, for you it’s only an offering; but for me it’s a sacrifice.”
The point is this: the believer is to walk in love, just as Christ has loved us and has given Himself as an offering and a sacrifice to God. There is to be no limit to the offering and sacrifice of our lives to God and to men.
Remember: God’s love – agape love – is always an acting love. How is our love for others? Introspect yourself for a moment while reading these lines and check your love for God and for others, and determine to walk in a sacrificial kind of love. God Bless.
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children, And walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” (KJV)
The believer follows God, first by becoming a follower of God. This is a very important decision that a person makes in his life. It means that he is gonna be loyal to a person of Jesus Christ the rest of his life. He can then sing aloud that I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, the world behind me and the cross before me. Thus he makes himself get detached from the things of the world and get attached with God. It’s a matter of detach and attach. Where is our attachment today?
Secondly, by loving as Christ loved. His love is pure and selfless. The hardest thing for any person to do is to deny his selfish desires and offer his life as a sacrifice. All of us can relate to the following story:
Once upon a time a Pig and a Chicken went for a walk together down the main street of town. As they were walking they were talking. The chicken noticed a sign in the restaurant that looked like a pretty good deal to him. “Hey pig. Look at that sign in the window: ‘Ham and eggs – all that you can eat.’ That’s a great deal.” The pig paused for a moment while he carefully chose his words. “A good deal you say. Well, for you it’s only an offering; but for me it’s a sacrifice.”
The point is this: the believer is to walk in love, just as Christ has loved us and has given Himself as an offering and a sacrifice to God. There is to be no limit to the offering and sacrifice of our lives to God and to men.
Remember: God’s love – agape love – is always an acting love. How is our love for others? Introspect yourself for a moment while reading these lines and check your love for God and for others, and determine to walk in a sacrificial kind of love. God Bless.
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