Sacrifice

Community Christian Church did a message today talking about materialism. That's cool. But here's what is awesome. They asked everybody to sell something of value on ebay and donate the money. Awesome. Applicable. Challenging. JM

Matthew 13:44-46

Would you give up everything you had to get Jesus? I mean everything? That's a really tough thought. I mean, I can imagine suffering a little. I can imagine being poor (I kind of am), I can imagine having people reject you because of your faith (some of my neighbors are uncomfortable around me because of my faith), I can even imagine having friends reject you (I've had several friends say they just didn't "get" my faith). But can you imagine not having anything. Can you imagine your family rejecting you. Your wife. Your kids. Your parents. Can you imagine not having anyone but God.
I hope and pray that my life never comes to that. I hope that I'm never tested in that. I think I could do it, but I would be so sad. JM

Matthew 13:31-35

I just did a little bit of research to find out what "the kingdom of heaven" is. Most things that I read say that it is referring to Jesus as the gateway to heaven. Thinking about that, it's awesome to see how Jesus was already foreshadowing what his sacrifice would do. Basically he's saying that he's the only human that could get into heaven, but because of his sacrifice many people will get into heaven. That's why sacrifice is such an amazing thing. It motivates and inspires others. It also provides opportunities for people that they almost certainly would otherwise not have. JM