April 27, 2004

[Rev. Doc]

Love Is Sacrifice

I John 3:16
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

Dave Simmons shares the following account in his book, Dad, The Family Coach: "I took Helen (eight years old) and Brandon (five years old) to the Cloverleaf Mall in Hattiesburg to do a little shopping. As we drove up, we spotted a Peterbilt eighteen-wheeler parked with a big sign on it that said, "Petting Zoo." The kids jumped up in a rush and asked, "Daddy, Daddy. Can we go? Please. Please. Can we go?"
"Sure," I said, flipping them both a quarter before walking into Sears. They bolted away, and I felt free to take my time looking for a scroll saw. A petting zoo consists of a portable fence erected in the mall with about six inches of sawdust and a hundred little furry baby animals of all kinds. Kids pay their money and stay in the enclosure enraptured with the squirmy little critters while their moms and dads shop.
A few minutes later, I turned around and saw Helen walking along behind me. I was shocked to see she preferred the hardware department to the petting zoo. Recognizing my error, I bent down and asked her what was wrong.
She looked up at me with those giant limpid brown eyes and said sadly, "Well, Daddy, it cost fifty cents. So, I gave Brandon my quarter." Then she said the most beautiful thing I ever heard. She repeated the family motto. The family motto is "Love is Action!"
She had given Brandon her quarter, and no one loves cuddly furry creatures more than Helen. She had watched Sandy my wife take my steak and say, "Love is Action!" She had watched both of us do and say "Love is Action!" for years around the house at Kings Arrow Ranch. She had heard and seen "Love is Action," and now she had incorporated it into her little lifestyle. It had become part of her.
What do you think I did? Well, not what you might think. As soon as I finished my errands, I took Helen to the petting zoo. We stood by the fence and watched Brandon go crazy petting and feeding the animals. Helen stood with her hands and chin resting on the fence and just watched Brandon. I had fifty cents burning a hole in my pocket; I never offered it to Helen, and she never asked for it.
Because she knew the whole family motto. It's not "Love is Action." It's "Love is SACRIFICIAL Action!" Love always pays a price. Love always costs something. Love is expensive. When you love, benefits accrue to another's account. Love is for you, not for me. Love gives; it doesn't grab. Helen gave her quarter to Brandon and wanted to follow through with her lesson. She knew she had to taste the sacrifice. She wanted to experience that total family motto. Love is sacrificial action."

We should always remember, love never comes cheap. Yet it is a price that is well worth the sacrifice.

Prayer: Ask the Lord to give you better understanding of what sacrificial love is really all about. And then the strength to practice it.

"Whoever loves much, does much." ~Thomas a' Kempis.

[Staci]

Awwwwwwwwwww! *wipes tears from her eyes* That is SO beautiful, it truly is. Thank you for posting this, Rev. Doc; I cannot wait to share it with those that I care about.

*huggles any passer-by to this thread*

[wiggins]

Thanks Rev. Doc... I need to understand and practice sacrificial love more, because just like the word sacrifcial denotes, sacrificial love isn't easy to give.

[glitch1501]

thanks rev. doc, im definatly gonna start reading your daily devotions, thanks