True Sacrifice

One son came to me a month or so ago, asking me to intervene.  He had asked his brother how he could bless him and "fill his love tank," a practice we encourage in our family.  His brother had answered, "Give me all your wii time."  Electronics are closely monitored in our house, so each child has forty-five minutes a day.  His brother was asking for a sacrifice, indeed.

He wanted me to talk to his brother, tell him he needed to ask for something else.  I asked him what he wished his brother had said would be a blessing.

"I don't know.  A hug or something."  And then, after a pause.  "I really just wanted him to ask me the question back."

I chuckled pretty good over that one.  "Honey, I can't do that.  If you don't want to give your brother your wii time, you don't have to.  But, the whole point of this exercise in love is that you're choosing to do for the other person what would bless them, with no strings attached."

I smiled a few minutes later when he gave his brother all his wii time.

And then, weeks later, it was his brother's turn to come to me.  He wanted my advice on what to get the giver of the wii time for his birthday.  When he listed all the things he was thinking of purchasing, I gently pointed out that every single one of them were things that he himself was wanting, and nothing that had been on his brother's wish list.

"Do you think you might not be shopping for your brother here, after all, but really shopping for yourself instead?"  My question hung in the air between us.

Within a couple of hours, he had asked me to take him to the sporting good store.  He, the boy who has no interest in playing football, walked out with a pair of expensive football gloves to be wrapped up in birthday paper.  It wasn't hard at all to give him a hug and tell him how proud I was of his gift-giving, both of us knowing the sacrifice involved with the hard-earned money left inside on the counter.

Two brothers who genuinely love each other, but still have to learn what it means to put another's needs above their own.  And not just once, but over and over again.  

What an important lesson to learn.  For without it, how will a marriage one day work?  How will parenting work? 

Because to love very often means to sacrifice. 

But, as I watch the growing respect and friendship between these two brothers, I'm reminded of how much sacrificial love is worth.  

Everything.

Taking His Name

Our sixteenth wedding anniversary was last week.  My husband surprised me with a one-night trip to a bed and breakfast in the Texas Hill Country.  The Haven River Inn is run by a Christian couple who minister to ministers by providing a place of retreat, and we were refreshed just being there together, rocking on the big wrap-around porch.

He had one other surprise up his sleeve, as well.  He had made a donation to the ministry there in my honor, and in return, they placed a lovely brick on the walkway to the river.

Due to to the fact that he married a woman who is not always watching where she's going, my beloved had to stand over said brick and cough loudly several times before I finally saw it.  But, when I did, I was astounded. 

Our name.  For all to see. 

Only, it wasn't always my name.  My maiden name was Davis.  Quite simple and easy to spell.  Now, it's von Atzigen.  Quite difficult all around.

Seeing it there in print reminded me of a sermon my husband preached a couple of years ago about the joys of changing your name to "Christian" when you become a follower of Jesus.  I think I can relate to the fact that it can be difficult to change your identity, to take on a new name.  But, I will also shout it from the mountains that it's worth it. 

Being known as HIS is worth it.

It's worth every little piece of sacrifice.  Because HE is worth it.



From the author:  If you have a few minutes, I invite you to listen to this humorous excerpt of that message as my husband invites me to explain just why it's worth it....

Click here to listen.  (recording is about 6 minutes long)  You may wish to scroll to the bottom of this page and pause the music before you link to the message.

The Greatest Sacrifice

For far too long when I read the pages of Scripture and encountered the faith of the martyrs, I glossed over the sacrifice, my eyes accustomed to the story.  John the Baptist was killed to satisfy a woman's bitterness at his insistence to preach the truth.  Stephen was stoned while praying for those who hurled the rocks.  Paul was beaten and left for dead, yet got up and preached again, and again, and again...only to be beheaded. 

I could appreciate the courage of their faith, but rarely stopped to empathize, to put myself in their sandals that traveled to take the gospel to one more people group, one more person in need of the truth.

My inability to empathize ended the day I met  a man who is now a dear friend of our family's.  That same friend is tying on the disciple's sandals and embarking once again on a journey to a nation hostile to the name of Jesus.  The danger is real, and it is intense. 

This friend will never have his name in lights.  He can't even have a Facebook account.  It's too dangerous to associate his name with the believers he helps or even the country he travels to.

He will never  be wealthy.  Every penny he brings in goes to sustain believers who will never know the extravagance that was at my dinner table this evening.  The "sandals" he will wear throughout his months long trip are the same pair he has worn for five years, pieced together time and again with glue.

When he embraces his family and steps on the plane this week, he will do so with the knowledge he might never see their faces again.  If he is caught preaching the name of Jesus, his wife and children could spend the rest of their lives not knowing how it ended.

And I am humbled by this man, who without fame or fortune, could be called "the least of these," yet is one of the greatest men I have ever known. 

I am sobered to know it could be my son who steps on a plane one day, if the Lord calls his name. 

And I am grateful that if my son receives that kind of call, he will not only have the heroes in Scripture as an example, but he will have another set of footprints to follow.  Footprints left by a man who counted it all joy and followed his Jesus, no matter the cost.

Author's Note:  Are you wondering what you can do, in the here and in the now?  Spend a moment praying for this man and all the nameless and faceless others who suffer for the name of Jesus.  Pray that the Holy Spirit ministers fresh grace, peace, and courage to their hearts.  Pray that their sufferings will reap great rewards in the Kingdom.  And pray if you are ever in their "sandals," you will follow in the same courage they show to their King day after day.