Equal Sacrifice, Not Equal Gifts

As we begin the Greater Impact campaign here at Grace Capital Church, this expression- Equal Sacrifice, Not Equal Gifts- keeps on coming back to me.  Today, as I write this, we are facing an economic emergency in our nation- one that is forcing a vote in Washington and may have a huge effect on the entire U.S. economy.

I can’t help but to think what put us in this situation.  We are a consuming people who live in a consumer driven culture.  It’s about making money to spend it to get more so that we can do it all ove again.  We have learned to store up ourselves treasure on earth, even though we all know that we can’t take it with us.  When the last time you saw a Hearse with a trailer hooked up to the back of it?

So the idea of sacrifice scares us.  Not because we don’t think we should, but because we don’t want to do without.  There is an “exchange” when it comes to sacrifice.  It’s about giving up something worth one thing to us in order to replace it with something of more value intrinsically.  We may not even see the payoff personally.  I think it was Jim Elliott who was a missionary to Ecuador who said, “he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

As you are reading this, whether you are a part of the GCC Greater Impact campaign, or if you are someone who just happens to be scanning the web, I want to encourage you.  Everything we have belongs to God, and yet he lets us use it.  The question is, “how are we using it?”  Is it making a temporary dent in our life or a significant difference for eternity.

King David once said, ” I will not give something to the Lord that costs me nothing.”  He understood that it may hurt to let go, but the gain is much, much greater.

-Peter