Format Page by Pastor Bill Pevlor

The Blessings of Sacrifice
by Pastor Bill Pevlor

Imagine living in a nice home in the country. On the way home from church one Sunday, driving past the old cemetery by the little stone church, you are horrified to see two men, naked and bleeding, run screaming across the road in front of your car. Shaken, you arrive home and discuss the situation with your family. You instruct your children to avoid the area near the cemetery completely until you find out what is going on.

Monday morning you make some phone calls and discover that, what you hoped was a vivid figment of your imagination, has also been witnessed by the neighbors. Tuesday morning the mailman asks your wife if she has seen these two wild men. The school bus driver calls on Wednesday evening to warn you to watch your children closely as there are apparent maniacs on the loose in your area.

The sheriff comes out to the house Thursday to have a look around. Unfortunately there is little he can do except caution you to be careful and report any further disturbances. You go to bed that night with the shotgun loaded for the first time in years.

Does this story sound like the back cover of a paperback thriller? Actually, it happened, in a slightly different setting. In Matthew 8:28-34, the Bible records the story of two demon-possessed men who lived in the tombs in the region of the Gaderenes. Verse twenty-eight says, “They were so violent that no one could pass that way.” You would think that the Gaderenes would be grateful and relieved when Jesus cast the demons out of those men. Instead they were so upset they asked Jesus to leave. You see, when the demons came out of the two men, they invaded the bodies of a herd of pigs. The pigs went crazy, ran over a cliff, and were drowned. Apparently the deliverance of two men from demons, and a region from terror, paled in comparison to the loss of the monetary value of the herd of swine.

The Gaderenes wanted deliverance without disturbance. They wanted the benefits without the bills. They wanted Jesus to solve their problems without it costing them anything. Sadly, that is true of many of us in America today. We are so blessed in this country. We have work-saving electric appliances, climate controlling wonders like air conditioning and furnaces, miracle drugs to eliminate any pain, and cable television to keep us entertained 24 hours a day. Amidst the comfort and pleasure, we have forgotten the benefits of hard work and the virtue of sacrifice. We have come to believe that toil, sacrifice and any level of discomfort should be eliminated at all cost.

Don’t misunderstand me, I enjoy comfort as well as the next guy and I enthusiastically cheer at the announcements of new, modern advancements. What concerns me is the perception being indelibly stamped on the minds of us, who are so blessed, that the most important pursuit in life is to attain a blissful state, void of any struggle or strain.

Unending comfort and ease is the aspiration of our culture and, unfortunately, has become a prevalent theme even in the church world. Martin Luther taught us that the just live by faith. We are grateful that we do not have to earn our salvation through works and self-chastisement, but we have almost begun to think that being a Christian is about nothing more than being saved, blessed and comfortable. It doesn’t take a very keen ear to hear the grumblings echoing through the sanctuaries, “Don’t challenge me, don’t say anything that will upset me, don’t assign any responsibility to me for my neighbor’s welfare or even my own actions. Don’t disturb me. I am here to be blessed.”

Let us not forget Romans 12:1, which calls us to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices. Our salvation is free, purchased for us by the precious blood of Jesus, but there is more to it than just our personal comfort and security. Ephesians 2:10 declares that God saved us for a purpose greater than ourselves. He has prepared a divine destiny for us that includes blessing others; often at our own expense. Divine destiny can only be achieved by those who are willing to “pay the price,” and the price always involves sacrifice, discomfort, unpleasantness and even pain.

Words like sacrifice, discomfort and pain are not readily embraced by many people, but those who do will find great rewards. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14 that the road to destruction is broad. It is an easy road, and many choose it. The road to life, however, is narrow, and only a few find it. Jesus is a leader worthy of our complete devotion, and His cause, one worthy of total sacrifice. Let us follow our Savior’s example and be willing to lay down our time, our comfort, our resources, our lives for others. In so doing we will find indescribable satisfaction in this life as well as rewards in heaven.

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Victorious Faith Ministries
219 State Street, Algoma, WI 54201
Phone: 920-487-5775