Friday, March 5, 2021

A Happy Sacrifice

Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” – Luke 9: 23-24

For the last few years I’ve given up eating sugar for Lent. While I’ve dreaded the start each year, I’ve been surprised by how good I feel during those Lenten weeks; and I’ve found myself saying many times throughout the rest of the year that I wish I would just go back to what I was doing during Lent, and stop with the sweets completely. I find it a bit ironic that I’m now thinking back so fondly and wistfully about a time of year where I was originally intending to be making a sacrifice.

Perhaps Lent teaches us that giving up something we enjoy can be much more than just a sacrifice. It can actually make us stronger in faith and discipline, help us focus on what’s really important, and even force us to learn and expand our horizons. And all these things can make us happier and more content in our daily lives.

The New Testament is filled with people who gave up most of what they once valued to follow Christ and expand the church. But their sacrifices led them to receive rewards far broader and greater than anything they could have had if they kept their lives “as-is.”

Craig Fowler