I shared with you a
couple weeks ago about our nine year old pug, Olive. She had a personality like no other and was
my constant companion. I used the words
“had” and “was” because, unfortunately, she had to be put to sleep last
week.
To say that was
difficult to do is an understatement.
When we have had to do this in years past with other dogs, I have always
made my husband take them to the veterinarian; I just couldn’t do it
myself. But this time, Dan wasn’t home,
so the deed fell to me. I decided I
needed to be an adult and do it myself.
Olive had been by my side for the last nine years, so I knew I needed to
be by her side in the end.
I was the one that
made the decision to have this done. Her
quality of life had deteriorated and it had been hard to see her in that
condition. I knew I had to love her
enough to do what was best for her even if it was one of the hardest things I
had ever done.
Life isn’t always fun,
is it? All of us have situations and
problems arise that force us to make decisions that cause us hurt and
pain. Sometimes it’s not what we want,
but we know that it is best for those that we love. Of course, any sacrifice that we have to
make pales to the One who demonstrated the ultimate sacrifice because He loved
us more than we can imagine.
I cannot comprehend
God’s love for you and for me. He loves
us so much that He was willing to send his Son to be sacrificed for our
sins. He had to watch his Son jeered,
beaten, spit on and hung on a cross. He
had to watch his precious Son experience pain and suffering beyond our human
comprehension. He did this because of
His love for us and His desire for us to spend eternity with Him.
The other unbelievable
part to this story is that God’s Son, Jesus, willingly allowed himself to be
sacrificed. He knew that He was going to
have to lay down His life, so that we could have our sins forgiven. That my friend is love like no other.
Yes, all of us have
times when we have to make very difficult decisions. I think many times the decisions aren’t easy
to make because they involve our will compared to God’s will. We know what God wants us to do, but we would
rather take the easier route and do what we want to do. If we are honest, it’s because we don’t want
to have to sacrifice at all. We don’t
like to feel uncomfortable. We don’t
like to be pushed out of our comfort zone and we really don’t want to have to
put someone else’s needs above our own.
As we approach Good
Friday, I think it is important for each of us to think about what we are
willing to sacrifice for God’s glory. Are
we willing to allow Him to have complete control? Are we willing to do whatever He asks of us,
even if it isn’t what we want to do? I
sure hope so. Hopefully, knowing of the
ultimate sacrifices that have been given for us, we will be prepared to give
are all.
“So give yourselves completely to God.
Stand against the devil,
and the devil will run from you.
Come near to God, and God will come near
to you.
You sinners, clean sin out of your lives.
You who are trying to follow God
and the world at the same time, make your
thinking pure. Be sad, cry, and weep!
Change your laughter into crying and your
joy into sadness.
Humble yourself in the Lord’s presence,
and he will honor you.”
James 4:7-10 (NCV)
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