The most widely divergent sorrows may all be taken to the foot of the same old rugged cross and find there cleansing, peace, and joy.
Elisabeth Elliot
Finding the cross came with an assignment. Sacrifice; go and learn what this means, it seemed to say. But the Word actually says “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” for Jesus’ perfect life is the sacrifice that covers all. Even so, loving mercy and walking humbly with God requires a loss of self, an emptying of pride to reveal and expose the walls and masks that hide what makes us most afraid.
If we’re letting go of deception, if we’re being honest, is it actually sacrifice or saving grace?
Maybe the point of sacrifice is to appreciate what we’re given, to savor what is simple and true and real in this world – a small act of kindness, spontaneous laughter, conversation. The parts that are too stubborn to forgive, that are too selfish to bother to love, they are not real but conjurings to fit into a world that we’re not made for. So losing what is false is actually gain.
What is our sacrifice but accepting the circumstances of our lives with hope and belief that one day the God of peace and comfort will want to relieve another’s burdens with the story we share, the love we give, the mercy we extend. Because what’s true is that I did not find the cross because I was looking for it. I was lost and looking for love in all the wrong places, and mercy was there waiting for me.
Let us not forget what it feels like to be lost and the grace that pulls us back and lifts us up. Sorrows and pitfalls lose their sting when they become a map to help someone else stay the course.
