Modern Sacrifice

2 Cor. 5:15-"He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him."

Today in my devotional, This Day With the Master, I read about Robert Morrison and instead of paraphrasing, I am going to write Dr. Kinlaw's words:

Robert Morrison had been a young British man studying accounting when God saved him and called him to the mission field. When he arrived in China and the Chinese learned what his mission was, they booted him out. In those days people who went to the mission field went for life; there was no such thing as furlough. So Robert went to Macao, a Portuguese colony. He stayed there a little while and then returned to China, but again was deported, so he found a job with the East India Company as an accountant. Periodically, he would travel into China only to be expelled each time. Morrison worked all day for the East India Company, which hated missionaries,. and at night he translated the Bible into Chinese.
(This is a picture of his translation)
Eventually he finished translating the Bible, and later he died in Macao. For days after his death, there was no agreement on where to bury his body. The Chinese certainly did not want a Christian to be buried in their cemetery, and the Roman Catholics were not about to have a Protestant buried in their cemetery. Finally, someone negotiated with the Roman Catholic archbishop, who sold one cemetery plot so they could bury Robert Morrison. He was rejectedf all his life and even rejected in death. Rarely do we recognize the cost that other people have paid to be faithful to the Lord Jesus. In our society, we focus so much on our own personal needs that few people will stand up and say, "Whatever God asks, I will do." Are you willing to do that?

Sacrificial living will look different for each of us. All God asks is that we live for Him in complete obedience, putting aside our sinful desires. This is such a difficult concept to grasp. I am so prone to think first of myself and worry about my own troubles rather than look out for someone else. I guess that is why Jesus said, "Love your neighbor AS YOURSELF!"

My own sacrificial living must start at home...looking out for Nate before myself. A friend challenged me today by saying, "Our marriage relationships say alot about our relationship with God." This is so true! And, my own sacrificial living must start with Nate. Saturday nights during football season that means putting aside laundry, talking on the telephone, working on Shaklee, etc. and sitting down spending time with my hubby. I could care less about football, but it means the world to him when I enter into his world. Like I said, sacrifice looks different for each of us. In what ways is God asking you to sacrifice your own desires? He died for us so that we would be able to live for Him and not for ourselves. He deserves our sacrifice.