But now wait...
What if you woke up one day and decided you weren't going to do it anymore? You were sick of waking up an hour earlier to read your Bible. You were tired of your neighbors thinking your weird because you won't let your children watch certain movies. You've had enough of your co-workers saying, "Oh, she's the "Christian" don't say that around her!" Maybe you want to sit in a restaraunt and drink a beer or a glass of wine with your dinner and not have to worry about someone from your church seeing you and wondering how many you've had to drink. What if you decided to live your life like you wanted and throw caution to the wind?
...What would that feel like?
Would there be no more sacrifice? No more trials? No one to talk about you or your weird family? Would you feel a sense of freedom...."Finally I can do what I want to do!"
Well....in reality there would still be sacrifice, only this time you'd be giving up love, joy, peace, and patience (to name just a few of the fruits of the Spirit); all of the things that come out of our relationship with Christ. You'd be giving up His best-for the world's best.
When I glance at the clock in the morning and my body tells me, "You can read your Bible in the afternoon when the boys take a nap! Stay and get a few minutes of extra sleep!", sometimes all I can focus on is what a sacrifice it is to get up and have my quiet time-I never realized that to stay in bed for an extra 30 minutes is also a sacrifice. Who knows what God was going to tell me through His Word...and I missed it...all for an extra 30 minutes of sleep!
Last night we were running late for church. Wesley was suppossed to meet someone in the sanctuary and I was suppossed to be there at 6pm to help with Cubbies Crafts. Before we knew it, it was 5:51pm and we were just pulling out of the driveway. Earlier that day Randol had invited a friend of hers that lives up the street to come with us. Her mother had said yes, she could go. Well, her friend still hadn't showed up by 5:51. Randol was in tears as we pulled out of the driveway. Wesley did a U-turn and went to the girls house. Randol jumped out and ran to the door. She called over her shoulder, "They are putting their shoes on!"
And we waited...
...and waited
...and waited.
I was not feeling very patient. Every minute that dragged by felt like 10. Wesley had that look on his face where he pinches his lips together and was glancing at the clock every 5 seconds. I knew he was calculating in his head how late he was going to be in the sanctuary to meet his friend. I was also impatient, debating over telling whether or not to tell Randol we ran out of time and her friend could come another night.
Finally, out ran two children-neither of which was Randol's friend. It was her big sister and her twin brother-two children I'd never met before. They decided they wanted to go and Randol's friend decided she wasn't feeling well! As we pulled out of a driveway at 6:10pm, God hit me square in the face-I almost left without these two precious children, all because I didn't want to be late. What was more important-me being punctual or bringing two children who don't go to church, to a place where they can learn about the only One who can save their souls? The sacrifice of being late was well worth it! So often in the moment, all we can see is us, not Him and what He's trying to do through us.
One thing I have learned through the years, is that often we are called to do things that in the beginning-we really don't want to do, but as time goes by, His desires become our own and that's when you know-you are walking in His will; in Oneness with Him. What an incredible feeling~ one I'm not personally ready to sacrifice!
Everyday we have to make choices, some small and some very big. Every chioce has some sacrifice, something you have to give up. You have to decide, is it worth the cost? God chose the greatest of all sacrifices, having His one and only Son die in a brutal, horrific way...just for us. And we're complaining about waking up a little earlier or not being able to buy that new thing you really don't need, so that you can give your tithe; or prioritizing our time so that we can do a Bible study? Sounds so small compared to what He did for me.
Tomorrow, instead of thinking about what a sacrifice it is to fall out of bed 30 minutes earlier, I'll think about what a sacrifice it is to stay there and catch a few minutes of extra sleep!
"...But He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people..."
~Hebrews 9:26b-28a
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