The Gospel Demands...Radical Sacrifice

I have been thinking through and meditating on Romans 12:1-2 this past week. I have always loved these verses because they paint a clear picture of what a Christian is supposed to look like. Verse 1 tells us that we are supposed to be a "living sacrifice". Verse 2 goes on to tell us to, "not be conformed to this world".


These are great ideas but I fear that many in the church today have missed what Paul is getting at. If you look at those in the church and those in the world, there is very little difference in the way we look. We have, all to often, become conformed to this world, with a little Jesus on the side. "American Christianity" looks completely different than Christianity in the past. We need to be reminded of what Jesus said the cost of following Him was going to be.


Luke 14:25-28 says, "Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 


This was Jesus' pitch to the people who were following him. Hate your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and yourself in order to be a follower of Him. As if that wasn't enough he went on to say if you will not take up the most brutal form of torture, willingly, you cannot be his follower. 


This sounds distinctly different than "walk an aisle and pray a prayer" that we, for the most part, have reduced salvation to today. I am in no way saying that you have to earn your salvation. Jesus is not saying here that we must physically hate those who are in our families, but the love that we have for Christ should be so strong that any other type of love pales in comparison. There is a superior love that Jesus is calling these people to and that is a love for the Divine. The foundation of our satisfaction must be in Christ.


Our satisfaction should not be found in the size of our bank accounts, the size of our 401K, the grades that we make, the friends that we have, our satisfaction should come from Jesus and Jesus alone. Things will not satisfy; Jesus will.