Did it Hurt? : A message based on Pastor Rajiv's Message on Sacrifice.

It is widely believed that the those who are poor are often more generous than the rich. Jesus recognized this in the temple when he saw a woman put in all she had into the offering bag. This may be due to the fact that the poor rely on God for their daily bread and  they recognize that fact that whatever they have came from God.

This is not a universal law. There are so many well to do people who share their wealth in many ways. Yet, some Acts from the Bible take the prize as in the verse below. 

Acts 2:45

"and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need".

One of the points raised by Pastor Rajiv in his message earlier was that sacrificial giving goes beyond the specific giving. The word sacrifice comes from the Latin word sacra which means sacred and à ficeo à meaning ‘to make. SO SACRIFICE MEANS TO MAKE SACRED OR TO MAKE HOLY! In other words  to devote to God. 

As we near the middle of Lent, some of us sacrifice something or the other, like food, alcohol, some luxuries, money etc. While that is good for us, it may not fall in line with the typical understanding of the word. For example, if we have sacrificed some food, what did we do with the money we saved? Did we give it to the church, the poor? A long time back, the Church used to distribute money boxes which you were supposed to fill every day and at the end of lent it was given back to the church. 

Today we would like our readers to consider an aspect of sacrifice they may not have already. That 

A. Sacrificial giving has to benefit another needy person. 

B. Sacrificial giving hurts. 

C. It is not the same as sharing. 

Then only can we really term it as Pastor Rajiv's definition. 

The real question is whether my sacrifice came from my own expense or from my surplus? Did it benefit someone else or me alone? 

When Jesus sacrificed Himself, He did it for us; it hurt Him till death; He didn't share His life. He gave it for us. 

This story recounted in 1Kings 17 verses 10-15 says it all 

"So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”

As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.”

Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.

For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’”

So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days".

Dear Readers, it is good to give up certain things during lent, but when we sacrifice something, does it really help someone else? Did that sacrifice hurt? Was it from our little or was it from our much.