And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2

In this season of reflection and preparation it is fitting that we direct our thoughts and meditations on love and sacrifice in our relation to God and our fellow man.  We all know that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life.” (John 3:16)  God loved us so much that He gave His Only Son for us, when we were yet sinners, before we were even born.  His son, Jesus Christ, willingly sacrificed Himself for us, a sacrifice beautifully and powerfully described by Martin Luther in his explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles Creed:

“Jesus Christ has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature,
Purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil;
Not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood,
And with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own”

What an unspeakable gift!

In this passage the apostle Paul exhorts the Christians at Ephesus to imitate Christ, to love others sacrificially.  But what is meant by sacrifice?  St. Augustine, writing in ‘The City of God’, provided an insight into the spiritual sacrifices of the believer: “A true sacrifice is every work which is done in order that we may through holy fellowship inhere in God, and to the same end have regard for our neighbour.”

True sacrifices consist in love of God and our neighbour.

Lord Heavenly Father, thank You for sending us Your Son Jesus Christ as the True Sacrifice for all mankind. May this wisdom help us to sacrifice for our neighbours today. Amen.