This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10
I’ve been thinking a lot about sacrifice lately. As we approach Christmas day this year, I’m even more mindful that the unblemished baby in the manger grew up to be a sinless man who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
This past week I posted a blog about the sacrifices my family has made due to my travel schedule. Click here to read that post http://dudleycallison.blogspot.com/2011/12/airlines-and-snowballs.html
In a nutshell, I ended up meeting a group of wives and children who had lost a husband/father in the Iraq war during this past year. We became the “Welcome Home” party that they didn’t get to offer to their soldier. It brought a whole new meaning to my thoughts about sacrifice. Here are a few sacrifical points that are worth sharing with our children this Christmas season:
1. Sacrificing heaven for earth – Jesus, who “was with God, and was God” (John 1:1), sacrificed the grandeur of heaven to enter our world. He allowed himself to be limited by the fleshly bodies that we live in, in order to help us understand how to live a God-focused life on earth.
2. Sacrificing treasures – The wise men represent something important about giving gifts during this season. They brought gifts to Jesus that conveyed value and importance. Rather than purchasing all of our gifts this year, what might we give away that represents something that we personally value?
3. Sacrificing selfishness – “For God so loved the world, that he gave…” (John 3:16). More than possessions, the greatest gift we have to offer is the gift of ourselves. Who we are, offered gladly and freely to someone else. Ask, “how can we, as a family, show others that we love them through some unselfish act of kindness?”
May your week be filled with the joy of Christmas, and may your spirit be mindful of opportunities to sacrifice on behalf of others. The baby Jesus would certainly approve.
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