Soul Snack S9/6 ... God's Security Guard - B
“…I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." Acts 20:13b
It was not long and the starving lions would roar. Christians were to become the fodder of unrestrained barbarism. When heathen would assemble, Christians would soon die.
Yet the sacrifice of martyrdom had already embraced Christianity. Stephen had been stoned. Paul now too reckons with a sacrifice that would be the sentinel to his soul. His motive - the name of Jesus.
The difficulty of sacrifice would not prevent the doing of service. There can be no sacrifice where there is self-preservation. There can be no sacrifice without willing submission. Readiness is the conduit of sacrifice.
To sacrifice is to cry, “… father forgive them for they know not what they do."
Sacrifice is loving your enemy for their well being, even when it robs you of your well being.
Sacrifice is the absence of legitimate retaliation for your enemie's best interests.
God sets those aside whom He is well pleased with to sacrifice. This honour is for His select. In 1956 murdered missionary Jim Elliot incarnated his belief: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose." Copyright 06