Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I thank God for His mercy and grace that has enabled me to reach you through this mail. I hope the love and grace of Jesus Christ is enough in your life to face the battles and to grow in your endurance. I encourage you to not worry about any disheartening situation, as what you face as struggle and suffering is temporal. It cannot keep tormenting you forever. You are precious in the eyes of the creator. So do not give up, dawn is very near.
Sacrifice Is Not an Expense:
So far, God gave some points to meditate regarding relationships. In this newsletter, we are going to mediate about sacrifice. Any relationship needs a sacrifice. I believe by this time this principle is very familiar to us. However, when a person in the relationship thinks of sacrifice as an expense or in terms of a loss then it is a warning signal to re-evaluate that relationship. Do not ignore these warnings; if you ignore them, it will be a costly mistake in your life. However, most importantly, it is essential to understand the true meaning of sacrifice as well. Many times, the system of the world and the devil pinpoint the sacrifice or good deeds done by a person and make us feel obligated to them or the relationship. This is the cunningness of the devil. We read in 1 Corinthians 13: 3, And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Here we see what is important, i.e., not sacrifice but love. Instead of looking for love in a relationship, if we look at the sacrifice and believe it is love then we are allowing deception to ruin our lives. It is true indeed that through sacrifice we can express our commitment for the relationship. However, you should know the difference between an investment and a sacrifice. Many times, by outward appearance or expression, both investment and sacrifice will appear the same. It will not be easily discernable. Nevertheless, if you search for the purpose behind the good deeds, you will find these two being totally opposite to each other.
In this modern life, many times, we achieve our purposes through bribery or paying extra money. Often, people think money can do everything. Dear church, any belief which is not in the blood of Jesus Christ is evil. Hence, we need to be very careful. The devil, in a cunning way made people believe that prosperity is blessing. Therefore, we have learnt the evil habit of evaluating a relationship on the same basis. We assess relationships with reference to what we can gain from it. In 2 Timothy 3:1 – 5, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!In this passage, Paul guides us to leave a relationship if we see the fruits of lovelessness. Hence, it is crucial to constantly look for the intentions behind every sacrifice in a relationship. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, His intention was to save us from our darkness, brokenness, emptiness, and every kind of destruction which ensnared us. He had nothing to gain from His sacrifice, and there was no ulterior motive to it. His sacrifice saved us, and it come out of love. Therefore, let us not ignore this important revelation about sacrifice from God, and let us ask His mercy so that He can make us sensitive to love.
Investment vs sacrifice:
Many times, we spend our resources believing that it will give us a return. The way we invest in a bank is the same way we try to invest in the Kingdom of God. We think that if we give our tithe then God will bless us hundred-fold in return. Giving offerings to the Kingdom of God should not be done with a business investment principle. Sacrifice is like a mother’s labour to bring forth her child. The mother is happy to go through all kinds of pain and suffering for the well being of her child. We know about the sacrifice of Abel in Genesis. Though he did not receive anything as a reward for all the good things he did, he still gave the best sacrifice to God. He lost his life because of the sacrifice, but in God’s standard it was one of the best sacrifices. In Hebrew 11:4, By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. This is the certificate Abel earned through his sacrifice. Investment is to gain the world and it is about perishable benefits, but on the other hand, sacrifice is about gaining eternal life. Love belongs to eternal life. Those who belong to the carnal world cannot understand the blessings which come through selfless sacrifices. They can see that as an expense only. Such people cannot understand or remain true to a relationship because their god is their money and property. We live in dangerous times because in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! When people lose their love and money starts ruling them, according to the word of God, they are not the right people to live with. They are dangerous people who can destroy the eternal life which is in you. That is the reason the Bible recommends us to flee from them. Like Joseph, Daniel, and the rest of the Saints we need to leave everything and flee from them. Joseph gave priority to save his soul instead of saving his reputation and punishment. This is the important principle we have to remember. Unless we form the right kind of fellowship it is very hard to guard our joy of salvation and eternal life. Therefore, we have to flee from the people who see sacrifice as an investment. They belong to a different world. We cannot be yoked with them and still walk in the way of Jesus Christ. That is why the Bible tells us to flee from them and not to tolerate them. They have the capacity to spoil their lives and others’ too. We can see in the Bible about certain people who committed huge mistakes. They got second chances. Jesus Christ told the lady who was caught in the act of sin to, “sin no more.” Jesus Christ came to save sinners, but not the people who love money and murder love. Money, job, status, and wealth are given in our lives not to be worshipped and not for us to waste God’s precious promises by trying to multiply them. Instead, they are given as resources to selflessly sacrifice them for others to better their lives and establish relationships.
Dear Church, a promise is not given in your lives to gain the world but to gain the kingdom of God. Peter explains this in a very clear way in, 2 Peter 1:4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Therefore, it is very important to leave a fellowship which can destroy the fear of God in your life. When your life is surrounded by people who worship prosperity, beware of them and guard your garment of salvation because the pleasures of the world have a corruptive nature. So do not give room to that. It has a cunning way to entice you with many deceptive pleasures and temporary glories. Allow them to be exposed. God will bring a situation to prove to the world that what the word of God says is truth. David, in his fight with Goliath, proved that it is not the mighty one who is going to win. Joseph proved through his life that evil cannot destroy a person. Similarly, we have many other witnesses. Hence, in every sacrifice, look for love. If you do not see it but see any other motive and if it is about a gain for the future, then it is better to leave such a fellowship. It is a fowler’s snare.
Conclusion:
To conclude, I want to address the question of how a sacrifice should help a relationship. The correct example to evaluate a sacrifice is to refer it with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ gave up the heavenly throne and took the cross to make our lives better. That is why we submit our lives as slaves to His love. He gave us His blood, flesh, and promises to heal us and direct our ways toward joy and happiness. Here, what does He expect from us or what is His gain because of the sacrifice? None; it was selfless. He already has everything. There is no gain for Him because of us. His joy is nothing but to make us happy and to keep us rejoicing. All that He expects is for us to acknowledge His sacrifice and believe in His love. That is why He said in Leviticus 11:45 For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. He tries to make us understand that His ways are better than ours. He expects us to realise that He has more concern for us than us trying to take care of ourselves. This should be the right intention behind every sacrifice made in a relationship.
When someone sacrifices in such a manner with the intention of love, then how should we respond to that? When a person sacrifices, we should not think that it is their duty or obligation or job or habit to do it. It should not be taken for granted. When a person keeps on sacrificing, we should not become insensitive to that. There are two important points we need to keep in mind. Firstly, we should keep on growing in the habit of saying, “thank you” from our hearts, and not as a ritual or formality. Secondly, we should become submissive to the person who sacrifices for the relationship. This is what the Bible calls as submission. Love makes it happen.
May our Lord God help you to build the right kind of relationships. By His power and love, let all the broken relationships be healed, and by His grace, may you be protected from the fowler’s snare.
Dear Church, submit your lives to the perfect potter who has the ability to make you perfect, so that you can become grateful and learn to respect the relationships. The commercial mindset should not destroy this God given character. May the God Lord protect and preserve you from the corruptive nature of the worldly system.
God bless you all.