The joy of sacrifice

John 15:13  "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

One of the most important, if not the most important, concepts relating to true love is the concept of sacrifice.  To truly love someone is to sacrifice many things for them.  The sacrifices can be as simple as taking out the garbage or as serious as putting oneself in harm's way on behalf of another.

The absence of a sense of sacrifice is a clue that true love does not exist.  The word "sacrifice" can have a negative connotation, as if what is given up is being done begrudgingly.  The flesh will often fight against the need or desire to sacrifice oneself, but we know how much trouble is in store for us when we trust in and are led by our flesh.

Our society today suffers from a "me first" mentality.  The concept of sacrificing for the greater good seems to be a thing of the past, replaced by "every man for themselves".  This not only shows itself in how classes of people deal with each other, but also in our personal relationships.  The same unwillingness to sacrifice that leads to class warfare leads to divorce. 

Examine the things you aren't willing to sacrifice, and ask yourself if Jesus would share the same feelings.  If those things are held onto out of selfishness rather than principle, let them go.  Someone in your life will benefit.