Sacrificing Stuff for the Benefit of Others

How do you bless others? A smile? A generous tip? Bottled water for your mail carrier? These are terrific ways to enrich someone's day --even your own --and be a living epistle and ambassador of Jesus Christ to those who are watching your life play out. However, there's something to be considered: the greater the sacrifice, the greater the blessing. If kindness is reciprocal or stems from social pleasantries, who cares? I mean, good, we should be kind; but what is the cost? Generosity out of abundance doesn't --or shouldn't --make the front page. The greatest acts of sacrifice come from those who have been emptied, those who have been through "stuff." 

My bank account was emptied by cyber-thieves, but I can still offer to clean the church bathrooms. 

I've lost a child, but I can teach Sunday school to yours. 

My RA leaves me barely able to move my hands, but I can pray for our nation. 

Maybe it's the little "stuff." Maybe you juuuuuust seem to get clear of one difficulty when, BAM!! along comes another. If it's not day after day of uncertainty or a series of health problems, it's constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul or tenuous relationships. (Just a quick note: When going through difficulty, worship! If we aren't worshiping, we become susceptible to ingratitude or self-sufficiency. When "stuff" hits, allow God to be God: spend your time waiting on Him by giving Him the glory He is due. Ingratitude and self-sufficiency cannot exist when our burdens are surrendered to His hand.) So, back to the "stuff" sacrifice is made of...

Robert Alter's translation of Psalm 84:5-8, says:

Happy are those who dwell in Your house,
they will ever praise You.
Happy the folk whose strength is in You,
the highways in their heart,
who pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it into a spring --
yes, the early rain cloaks it with blessings.
They go from rampart to rampart,
they appear before God in Zion.

The Valley of Baca. Depending on your commentary, the Valley of Baca was an actual dry valley or a metaphorical "Valley of Tears." Either way, think hardship. Dry, arid, no sign of life or sanctuary, weeping, nights without sleep, loss. But they make it into a spring! These children of God, who dwell in His house, who make God their strength refuse to be overcome by barrenness or tragedy! I'm not talking about false bravado or manifesting deliverance by speaking it; I'm talking about them knowing God had their lives in His hand, knowing He is sovereign over all things --the just and the unjust, the joyous and the grievous --and declaring with confidence, He works all things for the good of His children! They knew their God! We who know Him today can praise Him. We who know Him today can sing and smile. The "stuff" becomes our sacrifice: because we have gone though it or are going through it, because our eyes are on our blessed Help and Consolation, we can encourage others and give when we are sure we have nothing in our tanks. We can do the impossible. This "stuff" has fattened our sacrifice, made it more costly, and we can worship with our obedience! Being kind when others have been unkind. Attending church when someone there has offended us. Being gentle with a child whose fears have kept us up most of the night. Driving our daughter to yet another rehab. Our tears become a spring, a life-giving spring for anyone who sees them and bears witness to our story. We can sacrifice because we are joined in fellowship with the One who sacrificed for us. We can lead others to Bread and Living Water.  

Even the going through and going through again and going through again might just be the way others will be blessed; this might just be the way others will dance under the free-flowing, purified water of the Spirit! As people move in and out of our lives through the years, those who are paying attention will see the same message repeated over and over: God is my God --and He is good! --no matter my circumstances. The assurance is (v.8), those who dwell in the house of the Lord, those whose strength is in the Lord, though they pass through the valley, they go from rampart to rampart. God's people are not going from issue to difficulty, from tragedy to trial; we are moving from rampart to rampart, from shelter to shelter, from salvation to salvation! Every trial we endure, is an opportunity to witness our Father working on our behalf. Every valley is an opportunity for the Most High to demonstrate His goodness and sovereignty. The betrayal of a friend is where we are assured our help comes from the Lord, and He is faithful to care for us. Illness is the opportunity to feel the presence of God through it all, and know He is good in all His ways. Injustice teaches us how much our Savior loves us no matter what others say, and He is Truth. The way to bless others is by the sacrifice of our lives, the moving from rampart to rampart. 

May our "stuff" not only teach us, but bless others as they learn the same lessons about our Master!  

Midweek: Food for Thought (April 2024)

As we continue in this Lenten season, a time of meditating (hopefully) on the passion of our Lord, I'd like to share with you this post from April 2024, Food for Thought. How resolute are you in your belief of all the Scriptures tell us? Those around us should be able to answer that question by watching how we live our lives.

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I'm currently reading Frank Morison's Who Moved the Stone, an oldie but a goodie. In short, it is an apologetic on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. At least, that's what the back cover of my edition states. But it's provided me with so much more: food for thought and a clearer picture of the events leading up to the murder of Jesus. Today's food for thought came as I was reading about the guard posted to secure the tomb at the priests' request. Morison writes:

It is usually contended that the excuse given to Pilate (viz., that the disciples might steal the body) is wildly improbable; ...the behavior of the disciples shows that they had not apprehended or believed Him;

Did you notice his statement regarding the disciples? The disciples, by their behavior, demonstrated their lack of belief. After the crucifixion, they went into hiding; they grieved the loss of their Leader. On the road to Emmaus, recorded in Luke 24, the two men associate themselves with the women who discovered the tomb of Jesus empty that morning: they refer to them as "certain women of our company." These were followers of Jesus, and what was their response to His death? We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. The morning after the Sabbath, why had the women gone to the tomb? To finish the burial process sunset stole from them on Friday. They were shocked His body was gone and demanded to be told where it had been taken. With Jesus' final breath, all hope left this group.

But the religious authorities, the priests and scribes, that "brood of vipers," what did they believe? By their actions, they demonstrated belief in the power of all Jesus of Nazareth had said! This prophet from a backwater town who vexed them and challenged them all throughout His ministry, they believed His words would --at the least --incite some sort of funny business! Now that's some food for thought right there! If the enemies of Jesus are more convinced of His authority or His charisma than His followers...

Why would anyone who doesn't believe in the power of prayer be upset if you prayed over your lunch at the local McDonald's? Listen to those who are crying out for Jesus to be erased from history or the Ten Commandments to be removed from public places. Are they more passionate about their cause than we are about our Savior? Do those who deny Jesus spend more time advocating for the poor, hosting strangers, fighting for justice, looking out for their neighbors, and caring for creation than we do? Are their more non-believers at the gym, fostering children, donating to the women's shelter, raising money for cancer, sending out Get Well wishes, coaching t-ball, or attending Overeaters Anonymous than there are believers? When my boss cuts my hours, is it my Muslim coworker who talks me out of panic mode? Is my Buddhist neighbor kinder and gentler toward her children than I am? Was it my Mormon friend who pointed out the beggar in the doorway, or did I have my coat off long before she mentioned it? What we believe --what we truly believe in our hearts determines our behavior. 

The Jewish leaders were more convinced of Jesus' impact than His own disciples. They took precautions to secure the tomb! To them, Jesus had given His followers something. A fire had been ignited, a fire they feared they were unable to extinguish. Were they right? Almost every one of the twelve were eventually martyred for their faith, and the truth of the gospel has spread far and wide. Hard to imagine anyone willing to give up their life for something they didn't believe whole-heartedly. 

So, I'm sharing some of my food with you today. Has the hope of victory, the hope of eternity died with you, or does the passion of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection burn so brightly in you, others can't help but be convinced?

Cause for a Pause

At some point during the Lenten season, I try to sit down and watch Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Every time I watch it, there is some thought that occurs to me or symbolism that stands out to me that, in all my previous viewings, escaped me. Now, I know it's a movie, someone else's interpretation of the accounts in the Gospels; and I often wonder, when we do find out the actual details behind the writers' words, when we truly discover the accurate and intended meat of God's Word, just how shocked we will be. This is not at all how I imagined! Nevertheless, this year, it was during the scene with Jesus and Pilate, based on John's Gospel that I paused. Pilate asks Jesus directly, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus responds by asking Pilate if he wants to know personally or is he seeking answers from a legal perspective. In other words, had Pilate discerned Jesus' deity and authority for himself, or was Pilate merely investigating the accusations made by the Jewish leaders against Jesus. Obviously, Jesus knew the heart of Pilate; He didn't have to ask the governor's intentions. But the best teachers, the best psychologists are people who ask questions. Questions provide a pause in a moment, a pause that summons us to introspection. Are you sure that's the answer you want to go with? Have you double-checked your work? Do you have your glasses? Who told you you were naked? Questions aren't always asked as a means of obtaining information, but merely calling for it to be presented, laid bare, brought to the forefront. Are you asking for yourself, or are you merely doing your job?

When I watched this scene the other day, I paused it, rewound it, paused it again, and reached for my Bible. As I read the passage in Scripture, what impressed me was the mercy and courageous kindness of our Savior. As He stood face to face with Pilate, the man His accusers counted on to deliver the verdict of death, He saw before Him a spirit. A spirit in need of a Redeemer, a man loved and created by God, fallen and dead without a Savior. Jesus did not tremble with fear; the spirit who stood before Him was more valuable than His own knocking knees or His own reassurance. Jesus did not beg for His life; the man who stood before Him was enslaved by sin and death. Surely, Pilate's condition was far more dire than His own. Jesus, out of mercy and lovingkindness, commanded the situation. He redirected the conversation, provided a pause, and called for clarity.

The other three Gospels record the scene earlier in His ministry when Jesus questioned His disciples:

Who do men say that I am?

Who do you say that I am?

Not in some fact-finding expedition, but for the purpose of providing a pause. Have you made a personal decision about My identity? Do you believe I am the Christ, the Son of the living God?

This is a great time to pause, to consider your relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ. If you feel yourself coming up a little weak or watered-down in that area, I encourage you to begin daily reading in the Gospel of John; get to know Jesus better and spend the rest of life following Him and serving Him with all you've got. If you've not taken any steps at all toward a relationship with Jesus, you can do that right now by confessing your belief He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the One sent to save you from the wrath of God for your sin. In order to build your relationship with Jesus, find a Bible or Bible website, allowing Scripture to become your daily guide for life. Pray, talk to God about whatever crosses your mind and expect Him to communicate His will for you through His Word. And, please, allow me to pray for you; drop me a message through the Contacts form in the righthand column of B2B's home page. 

Allow this season to be cause for an important pause.