Sacrifice

I've been reading the stories about the first followers of Jesus and how the church started. As a "doubting Thomas" that needs to understand how something works before I believe in it, I've been pondering the idea that something amazing had to happen for a small group of followers of a no-name rabbi to start the world's largest religion. This is when the validity of Jesus being sent from God begins to make sense - I can't figure out how a small group of believers could have had the passion to go in to Jerusalem and convince others to change their Jewish faith and follow the teachings of a dead man if something spectacular didn't happen.

What was this new faith all about? As I look at the roots of the Jewish faith it was about "giving sacrifices." God wanted mankind to not get wrapped up in individualism. The core of evil is selfishness and God worked through a system of mandatory sacrifices to help man get used to giving up something. When the first sin entered the world by man choosing to not listen to God's instruction, it began a wicked pattern of man doing what HE wanted when HE wanted. God knew that "life" happened when man wasn't bound to himself. Teaching the idea of sacrifice was for the betterment of mankind.

When Jesus came into the world and began teaching, it was sacrifice 2.0. Jesus taught that the best way to sacrifice wasn't to sacrifice something on an altar - it was to sacrifice yourself. When you give up you, you can make life better for someone else. Giving up you, Jesus taught, is a simple concept of putting others before yourself. The Golden Rule.

An analogy I thought of is the traffic sign to "Yield". If nobody knew how to yield or cared about yielding, our highway system would not work. Nobody would get on or off of the highway. Other than the word "sacrifice" the word "yield" is about as close as I can think of to one word that describes what Jesus taught.

The very first followers of Jesus had to have a huge army, or something or a spectacular message to start a movement that would go worldwide in a short amount of time. When I think of the revolutionary message of self-sacrifice - yielding - giving your life to others - I think I have my explanation.

Great insight into the mystery of unanswered prayer

I would like to share something that I just read in a book I picked up a few weeks back titled "can it be true? a personal pilgrimage through faith and doubt" by Michael Wakely.

Wakely uses the story of Lazerus to help explain the mystery of unanswered prayer:

"I find the story of Lazarus' death very helpful. Lazarus was ill - very ill, and his sisters set for Jesus, knowing that he, the miracle-worker, could heal their brother. John is very non-chalant in the way he tells the story. 'Jesus loved Martha and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.' That comes across as an insult. Though he loved them so much, he did nothing at all to help them in their hour of need. He waited till he was sure that Lazarus was beyond healing - and then he went.

Is it any surprise that both sisters were angry with him when he finally arrived? They complained, 'Lord...if you had been here, my brother would not have died.' Their implication is: 'Where were you? You weren't here when you were needed. Why didn't you come more quickly? You were too slow and now you are too late.'

What great lessons there are in this story for those whose prayers do not get answered! First, of course, Jesus wanted to demonstrate a resurrection - not a mere healing. Secondly, his goal was far greater than just to meet their needs with compassion. He wanted to strengthen their faith with a lesson they would never forget. God moves in a different realm of understanding, and he is never too late. But very often his ways are hidden from us, an this leads us to conclude that he has failed. Finally, of course his motive is usually very different from ours, and part of the purpose of prayer is to give us the mind of Christ. Jesus' foremost desire was the reputation of his Father, not the health of Lazarus. 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?' he said to the frustrated Martha, moments before her dead brother returned to life."

I hope you find this as enlightening as I did!