Sacrifice of Others

Have you ever pondered how the sacrifice of others has made or makes your life possible?

For instance when we were kids we never dwelt on how much Mom or Dad sacrificed to put food on the table every meal. We just sat down and dug in. Just think about the hours working earning the money to buy the food, the labor in meal planning, cooking, and the cleaning up afterwards. Now that some of us are grown up with families of our own we are just beginning to truly see and appreciate the countless sacrifices our existence has required.

Almost everything we enjoy in life has come through the hard work of others. The items we purchase in the store, the cars we drive, the businesses we work at, our education, the beds we sleep in, the homes we live in, the wood we used to construct our homes, and even the air we breathe and for those who are blessed by it....the salvation of our very souls... can be attributed to the hard work, ingenuity, careful thought, and grudging or loving sacrifice of either mortal man or God Himself. None of us are self sufficient...with any meditation on our dependency we can see how any such thought is mere ignorant pride. Even if we lived in the days when men grew their own food and felled their own trees to build their houses we would still need God to supply the rain and fertile soil in which to grow our food. No two ways around it we certainly need God for survival here on earth and in the afterlife....and I have already made the case for needing others here on earth in this post-modern world we now live in.

Take a moment to humbly reflect on the sacrifices others make to bless your family. Think about God's Supreme Sacrifice given for your soul's salvation. Then think about what you are sacrificing for the well being of others. Do you give it cheerfully or grudgingly? Then search your soul deeply; are you sacrificing anything for God? If so do you sacrifice it cheerfully and humbly or grudgingly and hatefully?

Remember God says He loves a cheerful giver! Are you busy giving cheerfully? Think and pray about it.