Mission Critical: A Call to Sacrifice

Sacrifice.

It sounds valiant and romantic, until we are called to love the hard to love, strengthen those who have nothing to offer us, and leave comfort to go to those without access to the Gospel. We live in a world that has distorted the virtue of sacrifice and says, “If it doesn’t serve me, I don’t serve it,” and we, knowingly or not, bring this idea into our relationships, finances, futures— pretty much all facets of life. Even in writing this, I’m reminded of all the times I’ve resisted sharing the Gospel because my pride and comfort felt more valuable, run away from carrying the burdens of a friend because their suffering frankly felt too inconvenient, and coddled sin because I didn’t believe that what God had to offer was actually gain. But to fall into this thinking, is to deny the Gospel itself and all that God has called us to. Jesus did not run from the hard to love— in fact, they’re precisely who He came for. He “came not to be served but to serve” (Matthew 20:28) and “shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, [He] died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Paul gives the reminder to the Romans in chapter 15 that according to the example of Christ,

• “The strong have an obligation to bear with the weak, and not to please [themselves] (v. 1)
• We are to “please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (v. 2)
• We have a call to “welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you.” (v. 7)

We are called to sacrifice what it feels like most serves us— our own convenience, preferences, pride, etc. — for that which most serves God and others. Easy, right? But to most of us, this practice looks a lot less like joyfully giving, and more like the daily struggle of not caring enough and knowing we should, doing it begrudgingly, feeling bitter that favors weren’t returned, and then going through the cycle again.

Where is the breakdown?

Our own compassion or will-power can’t sustain this level of continued sacrifice or dying to self— but only our hope in Christ. We need sustainable motivation, and a better example to follow. When we look to Jesus’ example throughout the Bible, we see that He was motivated by God’s glory, sustained by God’s Word, and tethered to the reality and surety of eternity. We too, can imitate Christ and be sustained in the mission He has called us to join, by the same means. Whatever sacrifice He is calling you to, God has also provided the means and example to help you— and in turn, see Him worshiped and enjoyed by all peoples of the earth.

Christ’s Motivation

The definition of sacrifice reads: “the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.” Much of our inability to do this consistently lies in the latter half of the definition: we’re not convinced that the sacrificial life God has called us to is worth it. I often find myself bending to the desires of others because I want to look kind or unproblematic, but rarely because I’m actually convicted. Paul clues us in on the right motivation in verse 6 – “that together with one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The motivation of sacrifice is not self, or even others, but God and His glory. Christ’s motivation in emptying himself (Philippians 2:7), becoming a servant (v. 8), taking on humiliation and reproach (v. 3), and ultimately dying to pay the penalty for what He didn’t do, was “to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy” (v. 8-9). Don’t miss this. Jesus’ aim was His worship by all people, and our aim should be the same. Every act of loving and welcoming our neighbor, stepping out in discomfort to lift someone who is hurting, and putting someone else’s needs before our own— is an opportunity to point a watching world to a God who paid the ultimate sacrifice for them and who is worthy of all of their worship. I think it’s worth noting here, that Godly sacrifice does NOT mean being walked over as we enable others to sin against us or others. If our true motivation is God’s glory, then that rightly means we are called to sacrifice in ways that lead others toward Jesus and holiness. If what you’re giving up is leading yourself or others away from Jesus, it’s not sacrifice— it’s sin.

Christ’s Sustenance

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (v. 4). 

There is no way we can endure in giving of ourselves, if we are not sustained by the promises of God’s Word. When the affirmation dies down and the smiles fade, does our servitude stop? Jesus gives us instruction on where our sustenance should come from in Matthew 4: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” In His kindness, God has revealed Himself through the Word and gives us fresh reminders, in every book of Scripture, of his plan, purposes, and nearness to us in the midst of them. That’s even how Paul implores the Romans to follow in the way of Christ— by pulling from the Old Testament and reminding them of why Jesus came (v. 9-12). We will never be sustained in our surrendering of sin and service to others, if we are not first and foremost rooted in God’s Word.

Christ’s Hope

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (v.13). Paul talks a lot about our hope in this passage, but what about that of Jesus? If He is our example, we need to understand where His mind was at in the middle of sacrifice. One of my favorite stories that highlights this, is in John 13, when Jesus washes His disciples’ feet. 

John 13:2-5 reads, “During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

We could probably write 100 more articles on just these 5 verses, but what really stood out to me, was that what compelled the King of Kings to humble Himself to the point of cleansing the most unclean part of his betrayer’s body, was His assurance of all that was His because of who He was and where He was going. His service was an overflow of His identity and trust in eternity. Our hope is not in the fact that sacrifice makes us look good and holy to the world, or that it will feel best in this life. Our hope is tethered to the reality that for every thing we give up here, we have far more waiting for us in the embrace of Jesus— now and in eternity. WE ARE HIS! If we trust and believe that God is gracious, loving, and for our joy— we can give up what is already passing away, because we know that with Him, we actually lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10, John 15:11, Romans 8:28). And even more compelling, He promises abundantly more (Matthew 12:29, Ephesians 3:20).

Moving Forward

These realities are also what moved Paul forward when he made it his ambition to take the Gospel where no one had gone before (v. 20-21). He endured affliction, imprisonment, missing his friends, physical pain— because he was sure of Christ’s work in him (v. 17), and convinced that God’s promises of eternity in Scripture were a worthy cause for his life— that “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand” (v. 21). Would this be true of us too. Whether God is calling you toward a sacrifice like Paul’s, or you are in need of his help for the daily sacrifices of loving estranged family members, keeping little people alive, carrying a friend through a difficult season, or learning to do conflict well with your spouse— the aim is the same. Follow the example of Christ. Would our joyful surrender of self be proof to the world that God’s glory is worth it, His words are true, His promises are sure, and His ultimate sacrifice extends to them.