Why Sacrifice?

Why then do you think Elisha forsook everything and followed Elijah? Five reasons why:

1. Because of purpose:  Example, if you want to be a heat (100m) runner, what do you do? You get up every day, go to the field and you train.  You get a coach that you will pay to train you until you are ready to go pro. Even after going pro, you still continue to train because your objective now becomes winning a medal at every race.  Suppose you don’t want to be a runner would you go pay a coach to train you? No. Why? Because you have no reason to sacrifice your time and your money.   Purpose gives us the desire to sacrifice.  Why because you want to see that dream, that purpose, that vision fulfilled.

2. Because we have an objective to reach: Again taking our example from Elisha, when he received the Mantle he could have still stayed at home. Did you think there were no prophets where he came from? But he recognised Elijah and knew that if he wanted to succeed Elijah his objective would be to follow.

3. We want something:  In II chron. 1, we are told that Solomon had ruled for some time and the bible even said that God had strengthened his kingdom. But he realised that if he was to outdo his father or even maintain his father’s legacy he needed to look for God quickly and ask for help.  So what did he do? The bible said he slaughtered an obscene amounts of cattle, sheep etc and burnt a sacrifice never seen before in all of Israel, and that sacrifice moved God to the point where he said, ask whatever you want and I will give it to you .  Sacrifice moves the hand of God to give us whatever we desire.  If you want something from God, you better give something.  Remember Jacob? Did you think when his hip was breaking he didn’t feel it? Did you think when his eyes was burning with lack of sleep he did not feel the sting? But he wanted something so even though it hurt and burnt, he held on, he kept holding on till dawn.  You think sacrificing your time for a month and not seeing anything is enough? The widow gave everything to Elijah, she gave the last meal that she was going to eat with her son before they die to the man of God.  What are you willing to give and for how long are you willing to hold on?

4. I know this point may disturb some of you as it will make you angry but am going to say it anyway.  We sacrifice because we trust God.   You are angry aren’t you? You are probably thinking is she trying to say I don’t trust God?   When God told Abraham, give me your son Isaac as a sacrifice. What did he do? He woke up in the morning, picked his knife, charcoal, wood, oil, water and he woke up his son and said, son, come with me, we are going to sacrifice to God.  When his son noticed that they had no animal his father said, God would provide.

Abraham trusted God to that point.  He didn’t question, he didn’t reason out God's intention on God's behalf, he just followed.  Even if the waves are contrary, when you trust, you will still step off the ship into the sea simply because he said come.

5. The fifth and most important reason of all is love:  the greatest commandment of all love the lord God with all you heart and with all your might.  When you love someone that much you don’t think twice about giving up everything for that person. God demonstrated it most when he gave up Jesus for us. Jesus demonstrated that love when he also gave up heaven and his life here on earth for us. Do you then think it unreasonable if God is asking same of us? That we give 100%?

Written by Aba Dadson


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