It's Always Required

​Love requires sacrifice…always!

It’s not scripture but it’s a powerful truth I seem to forget.  Sacrifice often takes a back seat to convenience and comfort.  We prefer easy, speedy and painless and then wonder why we don’t feel fulfilled.  The important stuff; the stuff that leaves us joyful and alive; that’s the stuff that involves love and requires sacrifice.

I’ve had several nudges lately that remind me how true this statement is.  We are called by the greatest commandment to love, and the truth is, we can’t follow that commandment without sacrifice. Sometimes that sacrifice is small, for instance, I love my students but spending time in the evenings and on weekends to grade or plan is a sacrifice.  Other times the sacrifice is much bigger.  I hugged a good friend at her father’s wake this week and she lovingly told me she was so happy for her dad and found peace just thinking about him rejoicing and being free from pain. Her perspective and strength were inspiring but the sacrifice of that love will weigh heavy on her days for quite a while.

Sometimes the sacrifice needs to look like patience.  Sometimes it needs to sound like a swallowed opinion.  Sometimes it needs to appear to be sand slipping through our fingers as we let go of the past or of our own agenda.  Sacrifice is loving people exactly how they are and where they are.  Sometimes we’re called to love someone just by being present and there is sacrifice in keeping quiet and not trying to fix or change them.  The people who love us back make it easy to love but we’re also called to show Christ’s love to those who can give nothing in return and that is truly a sacrifice.

I think about all the times I’ve tried to find the perfect gift to show my love for someone. When I heard this line spoken by a movie character, I realized I’ve been shopping the wrong way.  I suppose the more we love, the more we should be willing to sacrifice.  I loved my children but I’m not sure they always saw my carpool complaining as a loving sacrifice.  This simple little line can bleed into doing the laundry and helping with homework and holding the flashlight in the rain so Dave can figure out why the tractor is making a weird noise.  This kind of love happens in the middle of the night after a bad dream or at the end of the day when you want to tune out the world but someone you love just really wants to spill their heart.  

There have been times when I’ve wondered if all the sacrifice of a relationship was worth it or if it was really supposed to be so hard and one-sided, but as I’ve prayed with these words for a few weeks I realized I was looking at it out of balance.  Love and sacrifice aren’t always equal.  Sometimes we receive love far greater than we sacrifice and more often than not it is opposite.  We’re able to sacrifice and love others but at some point, we expect to receive love in return.  We want to feel there is something in it for us.  I forget that my call to love others isn’t to get something in return.  Love is so much bigger than all the warm fuzzy feelings.  Love is the duty of a disciples and the way to keep that in balance is to realize each person that crosses our path is there so I can show them the love of Christ.  It’s not about loving so I can get something back, it’s about loving so I can love Jesus himself.   When I look at Jesus on the cross, I find the truth because it reminds me that there is more love poured out on me than I could ever imagine.  I know I will never be called to love with a sacrifice anywhere near that magnitude but when I recall his sacrifice for me, it helps put my teeny little sacrifices for others in perspective.  Again, I remember it’s not about me at all!

A Seed To Plant:  Who can you love today?
Blessings on your day!