Sacrifice

A dear friend sent me this quote from David Livingstone:

"Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege." - David Livingston, in a last will and testament to college men commissioning them to Africa.

Pondering this, I pray that I would not consider the small areas that I suffer and am discomforted as a sacrifice, but a privilege. It is only my pride that would consider these things as sacrificial. For when we consider something as a sacrifice we focus on ourselves and what we are doing. Instead, when we give our lives as a sacrifice, our focus should be shifted to our Savior. For, what sacrifice could I ever make to compare with that of my Savior?

When I consider His greater sacrifice, I can only consider it a privilege to suffer with Him and for Him.