Of all the great lines included in Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life, my favorite would have to be, “The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar.”  Never have I heard a more apt description of my Christian walk!

We all have our ups and downs.  Times of great devotion and well… other times.  We don’t purpose to be unfaithful to Christ, but when the going gets tough, it’s hard to stay true to our grand declarations of devotion.  My sanguine brother, Peter, is a perfect example.

Peter was witness to the miracles.  He was present at the Transfiguration.  He watched demons running for their lives and the dead rise.  If anyone had cause to believe that Jesus was the Christ it was Peter.  He openly declared his faith in Jesus as the Son of God and his undying devotion to follow him even if it meant his death.  In the garden, it was Peter who tried to protect Jesus by cutting off the ear of a soldier. 

Like the other disciples, Peter hit the high road after Jesus’ arrest.  Even though Jesus explicitly told them over and over again that it would happen, the disciples were dismayed and frightened that Jesus was being taken away.  It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.  He was the Son of God.  This couldn’t be the plan.  As he ran, all he bravado in Peter’s spirit dwindled.  What would happen to them now?  What if they convicted Jesus?  Peter was no stranger to the Sanhedrin’s loathing.  He knew that given the chance, their wrath and retribution would not rest with Jesus.  They would come after them all.  They were all marked men.

As Peter reached the outside of the temple courts, he walked through the crowd seeking a spot where he could listen at a safe distance.  He heard someone calling to him, a girl who told everyone that he was one of Jesus’ disciples.  Panic swelled in his body. 

“I can’t be caught.  I can’t go to prison.  I can’t face the cross.” 

He turned his head into his cloak to hide his face and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“No, really, I’ve seen you with him before.  On the mountain when he spoke.  You’re one of his disciples.”

“No, ma’am.  I’m not.  I’ve never even seen him.”

Perhaps another woman spoke, “Yeah, I have seen you with him.  You’re one of his inner circle.”

Violently, Peter turns to face them. “No, I don’t know him.  I’ve never seen him.  Now, leave me alone!”

In the distance a rooster crowed and Peter ran to escape the judgment resonating through his body.

In that moment, Peter crawled off the altar.  He didn’t want to sacrifice and he certainly didn’t want to be a sacrifice.  Peter was afraid and alone and having great difficulty grasping the plan of God.  This was not what he bargained for. 

I know there have been times in my life when I’ve been in Peter’s place.  I was certain that I was in God’s will, and then something hits seemingly from out of nowhere and sends me reeling.  I never saw it coming.  That’s when the doubting starts.

“Maybe I was wrong.”

“I can’t stand up to this kind of opposition.”

“I didn’t think it was going to be this hard.”

Sacrifice is defined as forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.  Forfeiture is a strong word.  It’s a giving over of something that belongs to you.  Your life belongs to you.  In I Corinthians 6, Paul reminds us that, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”  Christ sacrificed himself at Calvary to purchase our salvation.  We, in turn, relinquish ownership of our lives to the one who has a greater value or claim, but, as we all know, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Everything that surrounds us instructs us to live for ourselves and what makes us happy.  The notion of living for something other than your own pleasure is an anomaly. 

Sacrifice is a decision that has to be made on a day by day or even moment by moment basis.  It’s accepting that most people are going to think you’re crazy.  It’s thinking far beyond the confines of this side of eternity.  It’s living life on purpose for Christ. 

Abraham had a hard choice when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac, but so did Isaac.  His father was elderly and probably not as fast or as strong as he used to be.  Isaac could have run or struggled when it came time to be bound, but he didn’t.  He allowed himself to be bound, believing that his life was going to be taken.  In the end, a ram was supplied and Isaac was spared.  The same goes for us. 

God doesn’t drag us kicking and screaming to the altar.   We recognize our need for him and offer ourselves willingly, trusting like Job that “even though he slays me, still will I trust him.”  Then, just as we feel the wind on our face from the knife being raised in the air, Jesus steps in and takes our place as the sacrifice.

Jesus gave his life for us, the least we can do for him is lay on the altar and be still.

© Sandra Perry 2004