A sacrifice is a loss or something you give up, usually for the sake of a better cause. The better cause I want to talk about is an almighty one. Something that’s been on my mind lately. What do we sacrifice for God? How do we even start to try to pay back all of the things He has done for us? Well I’ve done some research on the matter and I’m prepared to share it with all of you in hopes that it will help you understand the character of God and what He expects from all of His children. (Some topics included are from Brad Wilcox’s book The Continuous Conversion-look it up! It’s great)
God sent His only son to Earth so that He could learn, grow and teach the people of this world about the plan of God among many other things. Christ’s childhood was full of learning. There was even a point where He disappeared for three days and his parents eventually found him in a temple surrounded by doctors asking questions that were far beyond His years. (Luke 2:40-46) He never questioned or faulted in following God. He was always “about His Father’s business”. This is amazing to me when I look back on my childhood. He was surely different than the average child who, like myself, wanted to play all the time and look for mischief wherever it could be found. No, Christ knew who He was and what He was about. “He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” It’s important to note that Christ did NOT receive all of His glory at once. (Doctrine and Covenants 93:11-20) He had to learn from grace to grace until He received a fullness. He received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and of the Father for He dwelt in Him. We are able to have this, too. We can receive the fullness of what God has to offer us. But sacrifice is required for our sakes. Grace is given freely, but to get all of the blessings in store for us, we must prepare in every way possible to be worthy to get those blessings. I think that it’s important to know that we don’t have to be perfect all at once, it’s a progressive thing that will take time and something that’s not expected of us just yet.
Something I have found is that our offerings to God aren’t what matters most. He is much more concerned with the offerer rather than the offering itself. What can we offer Christ? Our time? Our money? Our participation in church each week? God’s great plan, I believe, is not about the final “report card”, but rather the education learned along the way. We do not earn heaven.
“True conversion occurs when we stop trying to earn heaven and start trying to learn it.”
-Ronald A. Rasband
A God who asks nothing of us is making nothing of us and this is just not the case. Yes we are expected to do some things that seem hard at times. Let’s be real, these days it can seem tough to find time to study scriptures or even have daily prayer. But when I think about all that has been given me, it makes me want to be better. We should start learning about what’s in store for us. About who God really is and what He has planned for us. Is it easier to stop going to church activities and ignore the commandments than to be reminded how much we are NOT doing? Is this path really easier? Might seem like it temporarily, but God’s love is the strongest force on earth and the world will not love you like Heavenly Father can. This is truth.
Keeping covenants we make with God at different times in our lives are not a way to prove ourselves worthy of grace, but rather a way to “grow in grace”. Just as Christ had to do in order to receive the fullness that the Father had in store for Him. We can show our love to God by serving others and by giving ourselves over to learning about heaven and the divine ways of God himself.
So what do we have to offer Christ? Our devotion. In soul, heart, and mind. Show charity to others. Show charity not to deserve grace, but to offer it to others as freely as it offered to each of us. Keep promises to yourself as well as to God. Don’t cheat yourself out of things in this life. That’s not going to lead anywhere profitable. We can offer Christ love for our fellow men. Don’t ever take lightly the blessing of personal prayer. Take advantage of all the resources we have been given to study about God.
Grace upon grace. One step at a time my friends. That is how we will be successful in this life. In all aspects of our lives. One important thing to remember is to not confuse worthiness with perfection. We won’t be perfect all of the time and that’s fine! We are not expected to be perfect, but we should expect ourselves to do the best we can. Don’t be complacent. It’s okay to start slow. Lord knows I have a long ways to go and it’s something I’ll be working on the rest of my life. But that’s what this world is for. A test to prove what we got and how much we want to learn. And learning requires mistakes.
My challenge this week for all of you is to give your heart to God. Just try the best you can to recognize blessings in your life. Learn something new about the grace of God. This is how we can start to show our love for all that Heavenly Father and Christ have done for us. We can come to better know Him and the plan He has for us. You will feel loved and guided as you study, pray and think about your purpose in this life. Sacrifice some of your free time to help a friend. Focus on what is really important. What is your weakness? Work on it. Work to get closer to God and feel that love that He is so longing for you to feel.
Become Inspired.
kendrascorner9 