WeShare 2010 -- Week Four This is the last full week on our weShare2010 journey. Hard to believe, isn't it? Next week I hope to share a few of the things I learned this month. I would be very interested in hearing what you have learned if you participated in this little journey.
Here is a quick update. So far this month Joyce and I have identified $129 that we have saved by simply "sacrificing" purchasing individual beverages like a cup of coffee, a can of soda and a bottle of water. This is a very minor sacrifice, and quite frankly I am surprised at how much money we must be spending regularly on these items.
Like it or not, sacrifice is a vital part of the Christian life. Larry Burkett talked about the scarcity of true sacrificial giving in America in his book "Your Finances and Changing Times". He pointed out that sacrifice is an essential altitude for every Christian to develop. Denying self is a key to a deepening relationship with Christ.
This month we looked at a number of examples of sacrificial giving starting with my granddaughter and going all the way to the apostle Paul. But there is one obvious example that we have not discussed. And this is the best example we will ever have of what sacrificial giving is all about. Let me rephrase that, it is not the best example; it should be our only example of sacrificial giving.
Did you ever think of the sacrifice that Christ made in coming to earth? Sometime read Philippians 2:5-11 from the perspective of not what earth gained, but what Christ gave up to come to earth and live among us and then die on the cross for our sins. As we do this, our minds will immediately be drawn to the glorious state of what heaven is like. Revelation 21 gives us just a small glimpse of heaven.
But don't stop there. In understanding the full sacrifice Christ made, we need to take into account the fact that Christ was not merely a resident in heaven. Christ held the position of God in all His glory in heaven. And He sacrificed that position for me.
Hebrews is a good place to get an idea of what it must be like for Christ to be God in heaven. Hebrews 1:3 says ..."He (Christ) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of his power…" In Acts 7:55 Stephen also gives us an idea of what he saw as he entered into Christ's presence. "Stephen… saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God's right hand."
Praise God, heaven is a glorious place that you and I will enjoy someday as true followers of Jesus Christ! But not only did Christ sacrifice the glory of residing in heaven to come to earth to die for my sins, He sacrificed the incomprehensible glory of being God in heaven. His love, shown through this single sacrifice is far more than we can ever imagine.
No matter what we gave up this month or may even give up in our lifetime, our sacrifice is nothing in comparison of what Christ sacrificed for me. -- George Hutchison is a Board member of America's KESWICK and an instructor for Crown Financial. Become a follower of his weekly blog visiting STEWARDSHIP INSIGHTS.
Dig This Quote: “Now therefore’, continues the apostle, ‘why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?’…God did not want to put a yoke upon the neck of those whose hearts had been set free by the gospel…He would rather exhort them to stand fast in the liberty of Christ and not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage’…..How could we ever admit the thought that those whom God had received in grace He would rule by law? Impossible! “We believe, says Peter, that through the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they.” Both Jews..and…Gentiles…..were now to be saved through grace. And not only were they to be saved by grace, they were to stand in grace and to grow in grace….Those Pharisees were subverting the very foundation of the Christian faith; and so are all those who seek to put believers under the law. There is no evil or error more abominable in the sight of the Lord than legalism.” C.H. MacIntosh
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