My pastor – Bill Oudemolen of Foothills Bible Church – delivered a fantastic sermon this past Sunday. He is currently going through the book of 1 John. In this most recent sermon (he covered most of 1 John 4), Bill pointed out that one of the best ways that we express love to others is by sacrificing for them as God Himself did for us (1 John 4:10). That concept has been at the forefront of my mind ever since.
Let me illustrate this idea by talking about an episode of the old TV show “Family Matters.” As you might recall, for many years the big storyline of that series was that Steve Urkel loved Laura Winslow. He wanted to marry her, but she wasn’t interested in being anything other than a friend, and even that label was tentative at times.
In one episode, Steve invited Laura to go to an important school dance (perhaps it was the prom I can’t recall all the details). Laura declined saying that she was not going to go with anyone except a guy named Ted Curran. So what did Steve do upon hearing Laura’s declaration? He went to Ted at their school and said that if he asked Laura out to the dance she wouldn’t say no. Ted is thrilled and stated he would ask her, but then he became confused. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Urkel, why are you doing this? Everybody knows you are crazy about Laura.” “Ironic isn’t it?” Steve responded. “But Laura wants to go with you, and all I care about is her happiness.” That’s what I call sacrificing for someone you love!
One of the definitions for the word sacrifice is “a giving up of one thing for the sake of another.” I can imagine some of you thinking, “Sacrifice? That’s a dirty word. I’m not going to sacrifice for anyone. I’m going to get all I can.” That’s your choice, of course. I understand how unpopular the concept of sacrifice is. Just by the definition one can tell that it is obvious that sacrifice isn’t easy or fun. But I hope I’ve inspired you to be a person who shows love by sacrificial acts.
Kevin
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God – this is your spiritual act of worship” - Romans 12:1
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