A Christian businessman was
traveling in Korea. In a field by the side of the road was a young man pulling
a rude plow while an old man held the handles. The businessman was amused and
took a snapshot of the scene. "I suppose these people are very poor,” he
said to the missionary who was interpreter and guide to the party. "Yes,”
was the quiet reply, “those two men happen to be Christians. When their church
was being built, they were eager to give something toward it, but they had no
money. So they decided to sell their one and only ox and give the proceeds to
the church. This spring they are pulling the plow themselves.” The businessman
was silent for some moments. Then he said, “That must have been a real sacrifice.” “They did not call it that," said the
missionary. “They thought themselves fortunate that they had an ox to sell!” When
that businessman reached home, he took the picture to his pastor and told him
all about it. Then he added, “I want to double my giving to the church and do
some plow work. Up until now I have never given God anything that involved real
sacrifice.” While this story shows a deep level of sacrifice, it falls short in
describing the ultimate. We see that in the life of Jesus. He chose to leave
the celestial surroundings of heaven to come to earth amidst tainted and sinful
man. He chose flesh and blood rather than the ethereal, hard labor in the carpenter
shop as opposed to the luxury of a palace and ministry rather than the
monarchy. He was lied upon, spit upon, and beaten beyond recognition, but chose
nails, a cross, and a borrowed tomb when He could have been rescued by legions
of angels. Denying oneself never comes without a price, neither does it come
without a reward. Jesus chose sacrifice,
but God chose resurrection. Being raised
from the dead, this giver found himself being given the ultimate crown: “King of
Kings and Lord of Lords.” Paul explained
the gift in his own words. “God has given him a name that is above every name
and at the mention of that name every knee will bow and every tongue will
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Submission
involves no fear when we realize that resurrection is God’s answer to the question
of ultimate sacrifice.
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