Wednesday, August 5, 2020

A Sacrifice For Others

You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.  If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.  If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.  Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.  Matthew 5:38-42

From many of my devotions, one would be able to gather that I have a decent sense of the civil rights challenges of the 1960s.  This became a topic this week as the last living speaker at the March on Washington from 1963, John Lewis, died over the weekend.  It was of course a somber moment, but also one to pause and reflect on the great contributions he made.  He was only 23 when he made his speech in Washington, which was a pretty good speech.  In fact, it was a great speech for such a young man, but of course, there was another speaker who would steal the show that day.  However, he would be remembered most of all for being beaten by police in a peaceful march in Selma, AL, but taking a beating was but a small piece of the story.  The beating he took was to him a small sacrifice for what he wanted; freedom for the people of his cause. And once that beating was seen across the world, it would become the catalyst that pushed the Civil Rights Bill to be passed later that year.  Would any of us be willing to take a beating for that?  We serve a God who did more than that as Jesus allowed Himself to be placed on the cross for our sins.  You see we gain far more for giving our lives for others than we would for ourselves.

In serving God, we gain far more serving Him than ourselves.  In reading today’s verses, it talked about not taking vengeance out on those who would do us harm.  But as I looked at it today, it occurred to me that this is not necessarily just about our taking vengeance into our own hands. It’s about realizing God’s plan for our lives.  It’s about the gift of grace that only He can give.  These verses don’t explicitly say it, but it is clear what the intent is.  We cannot find fulfillment in vengeance at all. However if we surrender our will to God and are willing to give rather take in those circumstances, we gain God’s favor, and our hearts become filled with His Spirit.  That explains why we feel so much better when we give rather than receive.  Our willingness to sacrifice for the benefit of others takes on a closer walk with God.  It takes our focus away from others (man) and puts it squarely on Him.  That is something we all aspire to do.

Being able to give our lives to God in all things is the true sense of life living for Him.  Jesus also said, There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)  There is a reason the old hymnal goes, “Oh, what a friend we have in Jesus.”  He laid it all down for us.  All we offer in return pales in comparison, and while He certainly did not do it with an expectation of something in return, we owe it to Him to not waste the opportunity given by His willful sacrifice.  That is why I am grateful for the sacrifice of a John Lewis.  It is why we should willing give of ourselves to Christ to help those who so desperately need a savior like ours.  Let us show others the love as Jesus has shown us.  Who can you commit to give more of yourself for Him?  What areas of your life could you give more to help others?  My prayer is that we take from the example of others who came before us and give for others. Amen.


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