Dialed In: Reaching Your Full Capacity as a Man of GodSýnishorn

The Sacrificial Man

People often confuse serving (see yesterday’s devotional) with sacrifice, because both often encompass an event. But they are not the same. Service is using our time, talents, or treasures to enrich the lives of others. Sacrifice is the act of surrendering something of high value, such as our lives, our rights, or our freedom, for the sake of others.

Sacrifice is what Jesus had in mind when He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal” (John 12:24-25).

The man who willingly dies to himself for Christ lays down his life for others. Galatians 2:20 is his war cry: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

The sacrificial man is a dead man walking, not because he thinks less of himself, but because he thinks of himself less.

Take the wreck of the Titanic. On that infamous night, 1,360 men died, while only 157 women and children perished. Why did so many women and kids survive, when most of the men died? Because men chose to go down with the ship to sacrifice their lives for others.

In fact, throughout history, men have sacrificed themselves for others. That’s still true. Watch the news: when catastrophe strikes, it is men who come to the rescue.

For Christian men, we are inspired by the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, who said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The sacrificial man embraces the truth of Rick Warren’s words, “It’s not about you.” It’s about Jesus, bringing glory to Him and sacrificing oneself for the benefit of others.

Dialed-in men willingly and joyfully sacrifice themselves for others.

How is the death of self through Christian surrender critical for the sacrificial man (John 12:24-25; Galatians 2:20; 6:14)?