FEBRUARY 13, 2013
A
Small Sacrifice
Read: Mark
10:17-27
With God all things are possible. —Mark
10:27
As
we anticipate the coming celebration of Easter, I begin thinking about
the
sacrifice Jesus made so that I could be reconciled to God. To help me
focus on
all that He gave up for me, I make a small sacrifice of my own.
When I fast
from something I normally enjoy, every craving for that food
or drink or
pastime reminds me of how much more Jesus gave up for me.
Because
I want to be successful, I tend to give up something that isn’t a
big temptation
for me. Yet even then I fail. My inability to be perfect in such
a small thing
reminds me of why Easter is so important. If we could be perfect,
Jesus would
not have had to die.
The
rich young man whom Jesus encountered along a Judean road was trying
to earn
eternal life by being good. But Jesus, knowing the man could never be
good
enough, said, “With men [salvation] is impossible, but not with God”
(Mark
10:27).
Although
giving up something does not make anyone good, it does remind us
that no one is
good except God (v.18). And that’s important to remember, for
it is the
sacrifice of a good and perfect God that makes our salvation possible.
I gave My life for thee;
My precious blood I shed,
That thou might ransomed be
And quickened from the dead. —Havergal
Jesus sacrificed His life for ours.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
