Everyone knows about the New Years' resolution to go to the gym more, for whatever reason; and at the end of December it sounds like a great idea that you are fully on board with. You're completely on team workout; but then it's time to go to the gym and you start feeling the burn. All of a sudden, you start telling yourself that you don't need to drive all the way to the gym because of gas or lack of time, and many times, the gym just disappears until Summer rolls around and you want to look fit for your swimwear. Anyone can be a fan of anything, but once sacrifice comes, then you will either give that something your all or drop it and step away from the struggle. The same thing applies to Christianity.
Now, I am not saying that I know who is and who is not saved. That is between every person and God, one on one. I can only testify for myself and hope for the best; but that is a topic for another time. When it comes to our faith and what we believe, someone in life will always want to question it because not everyone believes int he same thing; or, using Christians as the example, someone or something will make you feel attacked for being a Christian. You may loose friends, or even have to give up your favorite weekend activity. Once you have to loose something for Christ, you make the choice: which one is more important? You make a choice between letting the thing go, or letting go of God. It's like lifting weights. God may put on another twenty pounds to help you grow stronger, and you can either push through the pain and grow stronger, or drop the weights and notice how little time you have to make it to the gym.
You find out if you are truly devoted to something when you have to sacrifice to keep it. Just like the gym with heavy weights, or sports with practice, or college with finals, there will always be a call to give up something in anything you do. When we sacrifice for something, we give it our all, because we have invested into it. For Christians, we sacrifice the world and everything in it. This is a sacrifice that we have to do daily. It sounds scary saying it that way, but that is how it is with everything. For the gym, you have to sacrifice the laziness and time and gas and anything else every day that you go to the gym. For sports, you have to sacrifice time and other things that I would know if I was a sports type of guy. For college, you have to sacrifice money, time, and sometimes even a job or a fun weekend out. Everything calls for a sacrifice, and we must choose what we are willing to make sacrifices for.
The sacrifice for Christ is the world, your old life. John 12:25 says that, "whoever loves his life shall loose it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." Just like working out, there is a little pain in the beginning, more pain in the middle, and amazing results at the end. There is no easy sacrifice for something worth while, but Christ is there to help those who ask for His help.
I shall leave you with these words from Romans 12:1, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." This is your call to abandon your old ways and sacrifice the world in order to worship God. It was not an easy sacrifice for me, but I made sure that my relationship with God was not like my New Years' resolution to try to work out.
-D
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