For those of you who have been keeping up (Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4,), we have been talking A TON about the idea of #sacrifice. It was starting to feel pretty dark, like being a Follower of Christ is a terrible death sentence. Well, I suppose there is a death sentence involved…
The death sentence I am referring to is a death to ourselves, and a death to anything we may love more than Christ. We are called to #sacrifice the things that distract us from a closer walk with the Lord. We are called to kill anything that robs us of the presence of Jesus in our lives.
There I go again…getting all intense. So I started asking the students of CORE Youth Ministry a few questions, like:
What motivates your #sacrifice?
The answer I heard brought tears to my eyes. “Love.” These Christ-followers in Manchester, Iowa pointed back to Luke 9:23, describing “…take up his cross daily,” as a picture of love. When Christ took up His cross, it was motivated out of His deep, wild, extravagant love for us.
Our #sacrifice–whatever form it takes in your life–is motivated by our deep, deep love for the Lord. And our love for the Lord is a response to His deep, deep love for us. I promise that it is as simple as that.
How will you live this love out during this season of Lent? Maybe it’s #sacrificing something that has kept you from spending time with the Lord. Maybe it is adding something to your life that brings you closer to Christ. Either way, here is our prayer for CORE Youth Ministry, and our prayer for you for the next 40 days:
Inspired by “Not a Fan” by Kyle Idleman, and the Ash Wednesday Service at Manchester United Methodist Church.
CORE Youth Ministry 