SUFFERING IS A GIFT

Who wants to suffer in the first place? You may say that if it ain't for something good you prefer to have a worry-free, careless, fantastic life.  I would rather lie down on the beach than crawling in the wilderness.  Or I prefer to eat a burger over a plate of mashed carrots.  Or I would rather watch TV than mowing.  But there must be something good behind the pain.

Sacrificing is making you suffer for a good cause. A lady colligue of mine shaved her whole head in support for the cure of her bff's cancer. She used to sport a fantastic short blond hair sparkling a flyaway on her back neck.  And she was willing to go bald.  She came over my desk bald and all with a money basket. I who has been used to credits did not have cash at that moment but I promised to go over her desk to donate once I got the cash which I did.  Sweet. I mean who would refuse to give money to someone who has deprived herself from looking good to show that she cares and that she hoped that we care too.

Sacrificing is giving your time and energy to someone who needed it more than you do.  A baby deprives parents from restful sleep.  Parents sacrifice until the baby gets it working together. 

Sacrificing is also self-maintenance.  You sacrifice a certain element of yourself to attend to some of your elements that need maintaining.  Too much or too less of everything is bad.  Drinking wine is good for the heart but too much of it is not good for your liver.  You need to cut down something and consume more of other things.

It may not be difficult to endure when the outcome is obvious.  It is obvious that exercising will make the body fit.  It is common sense that mowing will beautify your garden.   But there are some that are not so obvious and yet you are compelled to do it by divine or spiritual reason.

A sacrifice is a selfless act which compels one to suffer for the sake of goodness which is very evident in religious undertakings.  Some of those acts of sacrifice are being branded by non-believers as absurd.  For instance the cilice which a garment or device worn close to skin that endues discomfort or pain.  Or voodoo/human sacrifices.  Or whipping oneself at the back with pieces of sharp broken glasses.  They may be going overboard to some who do not understand them.  Yet we respectfully try to understand that they comprehend a deeper meaning.  The bottom line is a sacrifice is for a reason whether obvious or not.

Muslims have their Ramadan.  During the days, abled Muslims observed Ramadan, they fast from dawn until sunset which consists of refraining from drinking liquids, smoking and sexual relations.  Catholic Christians also have their 40 days fasting and abstinence which starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. 

Sacrificing is a form of prayer.  A sacrifice can be an additional to a petition to level up how much you trust God.  In the olden days they bring sacrificial lambs to win God’s favor.

One thing that has been obvious as an essence behind sacrifices is Love and Faith in God.  We do extra mile to show how much we love God.  We discomfort ourselves to show how much we love God and how faithful we are to God.  This has been what I have known until I found the essence of why Jesus had to spend 40 days in the wilderness.  There is more to sacrifice.  It is a GIFT.

Jesus has to undergo testing in the wilderness for 40 days before He starts his ministry.  I believe that he was equipping himself during that time.  As a human being he had to undergo temptation which is very evident when one is sacrificing in order to conquer them.  Once He conquered the wilderness there was no stopping Him from doing what He ought to do.

Sacrificing is gesture of enduring going away from worldly things. We are made of body and soul. One obvious difference between the two is the visibility. We can see the body as compared to the realism that we cannot see the soul.  What we ought to sacrifice is the worldly thing, to minimize it and to maximize or to strengthen our soul.  Sacrifices, once conquered, would show that your soul emerges and the worldly matters do not have much a hold of you. Sacrificing is a means of scraping away what isn't necessary and learn not to rely much on it again.  I have done it; hence, I can it do again and again and again.  TV has no rule over me.  Alcohol or coke has no control over me.  I can live without the Mac in my leisure time.

Jesus sacrificed his life because he wanted to save us from our sins.  But the story did not end there.  He has risen to show that the world has no control over Him.  He reigns.

We can reign over the world too through sacrifices and rising above them

Sacrificing is a way of segregating your soul from your flesh.  Sacrificing is finding your true self.

Sacrificing is a gift to strengthen your spirit.  Yes!  It’s a gift.

As a Christian, I observe the Lenten season.  It has been given to us to utilize the gift of sacrificing.  Make the most of the season.  Make the most of the gift and be closer to God and be away from the world.