Do you know what is means to sacrifice something? I bet you have made a sacrifice and let someone have the last morsel at Christmas or sacrificed a few moments and held the door open for someone.
Yet we are reminded of the ultimate sacrifice... Christ on a cross. I read some of Leslie Ludy's Sacred Singleness over the holidays. In one section she references Corrie ten Boom who says that many people walk around with self in their hearts, leaving Christ on that cross instead of Christ in our hearts and self on the cross. I was reminded of this may times over the holidays as we exchange gifts and catch up with friends and family. How often do we seek out things because of selfish desires and leave Christ on the cross? When did a promotion, a new phone or car, better house, nice clothes or shoes, or a spouse become so important that we put Christ on a cross and left self in the driver's seat?
Did the last part catch you? Have you been hung up on finding someone to share your life with that you were going out of your way to catch someone's eye? I know I have caught myself in the past fussing over clothes or hair when I thought a potential date might be in attendance. Then I feel miserable like I mentioned in the last post. My mind knows that this isn't how I'm supposed to live. However, our world seems to be telling us we have to have someone and fast!, that we can't buy a house as a single person (wait I already did that!) or that we can't live to 26 as a single (done that too!). Our world, even some of the Christian world want us to focus on finding just the right person to share our lives with instead of fulfilling our need to have Christ first in our lives. The Christian world even attempts to mask this by focusing on finding a good Christian guy, but in reality if Christ isn't first, we have missed the mark.
Leslie Ludy even counters this attitude by focusing on the fact that God is indeed a jealous God and there are countless examples in the Bible where God preferred us to be single and focused on Him rather than to be paired off and focused so much on the people around us that He gets left out. Is God first in your life? Are you seeking a potential mate more than you are seeking your Creator?
I'm learning to let God fill my life instead of focusing on all the things I want or think I need. Try it. Turn to God, pour out your heart to Him the next time you feel like turning to a person on this earth. Let God fulfill his promise to be your everything... this is a slow process, especially if you are used to having the world meet your needs. It is also a daily act of surrender, a small price to pay for the sacrifice given on our behalf.
