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Till It Hurts
Monday, January 23, 2012 at 4:32AM Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13
“You never give till it hurts.” These words, woven into the lyrics of a Matthew West song, stand out and ask a question I sometimes ask myself. What does it really mean to give until it hurts? The truth is that it can be rather enjoyable to give to others when it fits into our schedules, when we’re well-rested, when things are smooth and the sun is shining. We walk away feeling good about ourselves and feeling accomplished.
But God calls us to an extravagant kind of giving. It’s so extravagant that it hurts. It’s the kind of giving that happens after most of the world has gone to bed for the night. The kind that will never offer a thank you. The kind that is dirty and risky and looks more like walking through a November rain than a sunny June morning. Am I willing to give like that? To give when it hurts?
What kind of giving did I say no to this week because it would hurt just a little too much? What support can I give this week that will make a difference, even if it pushes me harder than I feel comfortable?
Our example in this kind of selflessness is none other than Jesus Christ. He gave until it hurt as he poured his life out to others in his earthly ministry. His neighbors rejected him when he went to serve them in his hometown. He continued to serve anyway. His closest friends betrayed him when things got hard. He pressed forward anyway. The people he came to serve stripped him, flogged him, and nailed him to a cross. He stepped forward anyway. He knew he would pay our ransom by bearing the full weight of the Father’s wrath. He came anyway.
Mother Teresa once said, “Intense love doesn’t measure; it just gives.” Jesus didn’t measure the length or breadth of his suffering; he simply came. He endured it without patting himself on the back or adding another tally to the chart of things done well. And so our attitude should be the same. As we learn to walk in the Way of this truth, we find that all of life becomes ministry. It is all poured out for others, poured out for the Father. Making dinner is as sacred and as worshipful as working in the city soup kitchen. We do them both, and we do them without measuring. It hurts sometimes because we face rejection, persecution, financial sacrifice, fatigue, ungratefulness, and a daily death to self. But we do it anyway. We do it because “intense love doesn’t measure; it just gives.”
Stacey
Reader Comments (3)
A sacrifice that hurts for me is giving of my time. Do I constantly look to God to help me prioritize my days and my hours so that I am sacrificially saying "yes" to those things and people He wants me to, and "no" to those He wants me to say "No" to, even though it may not be in "my plan".
Thanks for challenging us with this Stacey. It is hard to make those sacrifices some times but the rewards can be so great.
I sooooooooooooo enjoyed reading this! Definitely challenging! I happen to know that Stacey and her husband try very hard to put God first in their lives...they are truly a blessing to us! (her mother in - law)