I’m bacccckkk! 😁Our newest baby, Ivy Jo, was born 8 weeks ago & I’ve finally found the time (& the itch) to begin writing again. Ironically though, the post below was written back in December. I brain dumped my thoughts about this topic & never officially posted them because I didn’t know if they made sense…I stumbled across my previous musings & not only did they make sense to me, they convicted me! 🥴😫So my first blog post after baby #4 is actually one that God spoke to me about more than 6 months ago & yet it’s still right on time. 👏🏼Enjoy…
I was recently listening to a webinar called “Big Hospitality” by Rachel Jankovik and she was addressing our heart attitudes towards serving others through hospitality. Something was said along the lines of how we tend to get in a fluster before company comes or how we begrudge the cleanup that inevitably comes when they leave. 🙋🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️#Guilty She challenged the women listening to consider preparing a meal for a large crowd; all the planning & prepping & labor that would go into it. And then what if the day arrived, the crowd filed in, the timers went off, somebody said grace….but nobody ate. Nobody actually consumed any of the food that you’d worked so hard to buy, plan, and prepare. 🤨How would that make us feel? I’ll go first.🙋🏼♀️ It would make me feel like it was all a waste! A waste of time, money, and effort that I had sacrificed for no one to even enjoy. Right? So why do we get upset when the clean house, the tidy playroom, the energy we started the day with, etc. – why do we get upset when those things are consumed as well? We would understandably be offended if no one ate our meal; if no one consumed the sacrifice of love that was put into its thoughtful preparation. *But what we tend to actually get offended about is the people that ate the meal tracking in some muddy footprints or not helping clean up the legos.* 😬 Our sacrifices are meant to be consumed. And that was Rachel’s point, that sparked a rabbit-trail in my mind and heart.
Think about the sacrifices that the children of Israel would make in the Old Testament. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand me, so let’s not discuss the sacrifices they made to atone for their sins. We know that Christ made that sacrifice for us once and for all on the cross and so there’s no need whatsoever for us to try & earn favor with him now.❌ Let’s think about the free-will offerings that the children of Israel could bring on their own accord. The people could bring an animal, drink, or grain offering to be sacrificed to the Lord of their own free will; not to pardon sin or get brownie points, but simply because they had a desire to give something back to the Lord. It all belongs to Him anyway. The free will offering is the only one we have today as children of God on this side of Calvary. We don’t sacrifice our time, our money, our possessions, our bodies, our lives to absolve our guilt or make us more righteous in God’s eyes. Any sacrifices we make for Christ now are to be given from hearts that are freely offering what we have or what we are to the Lord. Romans 12:1 describes this surrender, this laying down, this offering of our bodies as a living sacrifice as the way in which we worship God. The sacrifices in the Old Testament were laid on an altar and literally consumed with fire. Back to the present, can we really say we’ve made a sacrifice to the Lord if what we’ve laid down before Him isn’t consumed?
Let me put this in more real-life terms…
Our society today is consumed with many things. Money, fame, reputation, careers, education, entertainment or any combination of the above. Above all we’re consumed with SELF. A disciple of Jesus is called to be consumed- but not like the world around us is consumed. The paradox of the Christian life is death by living; dying to self and living to Christ. In Luke 9:23 Jesus said if anyone wants to follow Him they must deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Him. In a world that avoids self-denial at all costs, we should stick out like sore thumbs. We’re called to be consumed insofar as we daily take up our cross and present our bodies as living sacrifices to Christ, giving our free will offerings from hearts of stone that He turned into flesh, completely spent and poured out on the altar as a means of worship. Because of His one-time sacrifice in our place, we’ll live eternally and yet we’re called to die daily in the meantime.
Obviously we need admonishing to watch what we’re consumed with. But the encouragement and challenge I’ve taken away from this spark that the Holy Spirit has given me, is to find joy in being consumed by the right things. To mark the moments when I feel spent, like all of me has been poured out and laid down for others, as a cause to rejoice in the sanctification that God is doing in my heart. Proof that I’m being obedient and faithful despite my weariness. For me this mostly falls in the context of motherhood. I’m in the thick of it with stair-step babies aging 4, 3, almost 2 & a newborn. I was a pastor’s wife and I thought that ministry was consuming until I fully embraced this primary ministry of discipling my own children. Shew. 😮💨 I’m literally up to my elbows in babies, boogers, diapers, toys, snacks, messes, and meltdowns. It’s all-consuming. And then I began to ponder in my heart all of the above thoughts about sacrifices, taking up my cross, offering my body as a sacrifice in hopes that it will impact the Kingdom of God in some way. 🤔
My body literally, physically bears the marks of a woman who’s laid her life down in order to bring 4 babies into the world. What a privilege. 🙌🏼I plop on the couch at nap time feeling spent. I rehearse the discipline I’ve spent much of my morning dealing with. I finally get to the Bible reading that I sat down to do alone over coffee 6 hours ago before the mayhem began. I try to feast on the Word and get a sip of that Living Water because I’m feeling poured out like a drink offering today. In reality I trudge through 1 Chronicles wishing I were further along in my reading plan but trusting that this sacrifice of my precious alone time is worth it. This is no place to wallow or despair. Sacrifices consume. They burn. There’s nothing left. But sacrifices are where worship happens. A sweet savor rises to heaven. The offering is spilt, burnt up, devoured, consumed. And yet, God graciously gives Himself, leaving me with more than enough, when I feel like all of me has been given away for today.
When I’ve been consumed with laying my life down to care for “the least of these”, I don’t need to complain or pout or feel weary or question what I’m doing with my life. I can rejoice in being an obedient disciple of Jesus who has taken up their cross and died to self today. I can offer what little I have freely, from a thankful heart instead of begrudging those who I supposedly have been sacrificing for. 😥As a Christian, to live is to die. To give is to receive. To be last is to be first. We’re in good company, we’re treading sacred ground, when we find ourselves living paradoxically in these ways because this is the way Christ lived.
What I’m trying to say is that when you’re doing something for the Lord, don’t begrudge feeling spent, poured out, or consumed with the offering you’re bringing. That’s exactly what a sacrifice is. That’s exactly what worship is. By all means, don’t be consumed with the wrong things Christian; that goes without saying. But when your sacrifice has been made for Christ and His kingdom, rejoice at the feeling of being spent. You’ve come to the end of yourself. You’ve taken up your cross and denied yourself. Watch as He rewards your obedience by granting you more grace and fresh mercies for tomorrow. You’ve been consumed with the right things; eternal things. Rest in His finished work on the cross and consider what you might freely offer Him again tomorrow.
By His Grace & My Grit,
Hilary Harrison
