The theology of joyful sacrifice

Edgewater Mutual Aid Network food pantry volunteers working in the Edgewater Presbyterian Church fellowship hall. Photo: Gerald Farinas.

When I hear the word sacrifice, my first thought is usually of loss. It sounds like giving up something important or something we love.

But in Christ, sacrifice is not just loss. It can also be joy.

Scripture tells us that “for the joy set before him, Christ endured the cross.”

The cross was painful and it cost Christ everything. But he saw the bigger picture. He saw the joy of broken people being made whole, of families being restored, of creation being healed.

That is what gave Christ strength.

As part of the Reformed Church, we believe our purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy God forever.

Sacrifice is part of that purpose.

It is not a chore or a punishment. It is a way of living that puts us closer to God.

When the Spirit works in us, sacrifice does not just feel like losing something. It feels like gaining something bigger.

I once saw this in a way that humbled me.

A man I knew would sometimes put money into the collection plate. I used to think he shouldn’t, because he lived off a meager allowance.

Most days he was chasing after his next meal, getting by with what he could find from random places.

But still he gave.

He was willing to give what little he had. He had joy in giving, even when it cost him more than it would ever cost me.

And when I compared his giving to my own, I realized how little I give in comparison, even though I have so much more.

That kind of sacrifice is holy.

That is joyful sacrifice.

I also think about my own parents, and the way they keep living in the home they worked hard for, even though the costs keep climbing. They have given up so much for our family over the years, yet there is joy in what they have built.

I think about my years working with older adults in retirement care, watching staff and family members give their time and energy to love people who sometimes could not give anything back. Their sacrifice was not easy, but it carried joy because it was rooted in love.

I think about the life of Edgewater Presbyterian Church, where people give money, time, and energy. They do it not reluctantly, but gladly, because they see God’s mission moving forward in our building, in our neighborhood, in our world.

Joyful sacrifice shows up in small ways too:

A neighbor sharing food, a friend choosing patience when anger would be easier, someone taking the harder job so that others can rest.

These are not moments of loss.

They are moments when the love of Christ shines through us.

This is what joyful sacrifice looks like.

It is the pattern of Jesus written into our lives.

It is the daily choice to give up part of ourselves, not to shrink us, but to grow us, to open space for God’s joy to come alive.

So when we are asked to give, or to risk, or to lay down something for the sake of others, let us not see it only as loss.

Let us see it as God’s invitation to step into the joy of Christ, who gave everything so that life could flourish.