Friends in Christ,
At the end of another week, first of all I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a refreshing and blessed week. Recharge your batteries, but also your spiritual batteries.
Our Lord Jesus is the perfect model for us. As He was the ultimate sacrifice for us, we also should sacrifice for Him.
The disciples that Jesus sent out were told to “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals,” and to eat what they were given by those who welcomed them. It was certainly a sacrifice to give up the security of money, extra clothing and shoes, but it was more. Giving up these things required the disciples to trust totally in the Lord and know that He would provide what they needed. Also, money easily becomes an idol and a distraction, so not having it most certainly helped keep the disciples focused.
Jesus also told them, “I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” This points to what may have been the biggest sacrifice for some of the disciples: loss of their very lives. Lambs do not stand a chance among wolves and are quickly killed and devoured in a most violent fashion. The disciples knew this and knew that this could be their fate. They were being asked to make the largest sacrifice.
We must be ready to sacrifice also. As Jesus sacrificed for us, we may be called to do the same for Him, even to the point of making the complete and total sacrifice of our lives.
The disciples that Jesus sent out were told to “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals,” and to eat what they were given by those who welcomed them. It was certainly a sacrifice to give up the security of money, extra clothing and shoes, but it was more. Giving up these things required the disciples to trust totally in the Lord and know that He would provide what they needed. Also, money easily becomes an idol and a distraction, so not having it most certainly helped keep the disciples focused.
Jesus also told them, “I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” This points to what may have been the biggest sacrifice for some of the disciples: loss of their very lives. Lambs do not stand a chance among wolves and are quickly killed and devoured in a most violent fashion. The disciples knew this and knew that this could be their fate. They were being asked to make the largest sacrifice.
We must be ready to sacrifice also. As Jesus sacrificed for us, we may be called to do the same for Him, even to the point of making the complete and total sacrifice of our lives.
Thanks be to God.
In XC
Ed Bakker
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