Sacrifice

As some of you know, I taught a lesson last Sunday in Relief Society on "Sacrifice". This lesson really humbled me and made me consider ultimately what would I be willing to sacrifice for eternal life? I thought a lot about this and had an experience before teaching the lesson that showed me that I need to question my level of commitment to God. I did not instantly respond when my neighbor needed help- I ultimately came back, but I am sad to report that I left first and then came back. The part of the lesson that connected with me was a scripture from Romans 12: 1: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." One phrase in particular struck me with such force that I am still thinking about it, even though I am "done" teaching that lesson (though obviously I haven't fully mastered that lesson myself)- a LIVING SACRIFICE. What am I doing to make myself a living sacrifice to God?

I wish that this article would have come out LAST Thursday so that I would have been able to share it during my lesson. This article is about the life of Clayton Christensen that was on the cover of Forbes magazine. Christensen was one of William's Harvard Business School professors as well as being one of the area authority seventies for our church while we were in Boston. I knew that he was an incredible man- very kind and brilliant- but this article has given me a new perspective on what it means to be a "living sacrifice" to the Lord. I did not know that he had diabetes for a good portion of his life and I was particularly shocked by what happened to him over the past 3 years. He suffered a heart attack, cancer (lymphoma), and a stroke. To me this was beginning to sound kind of like what some of what Job went through health wise. In particular, the heart attack story particularly touched me as he was in Montreal and was supposed to speak to a congregation. He woke up early that morning with chest pains and prayed to the Lord to help him be able to be able to fulfill his meetings with the members that day. And the Lord granted his wish- he didn't have his heart attack until the next day when he was back in Boston. What a selfless man- he wasn't worried about his own health but more about the spiritual well being of the members in fulfillment of his calling. To me, this exemplifies what it means to be a "living sacrifice"

My old roommate in Boston, Natalie, wrote a great follow-up piece that talks about how he truly is one man who, despite all that he has been through, shows his devotion to the Lord through serving others and furthering the work of the church. When Natalie congratulated him on making the cover of Forbes, he laughed and said: To me, this completely encapsulates what it means to be a "living sacrifice" to God.

“My face may be on a magazine today, but tomorrow I get to wake up, get out of bed, and find someone to help.”

Again, he provides another example that completely encapsulates what it means to be a "living sacrifice" to God. I wish that I would have been able to share this during my lesson, but at least I can share it with some of you. The experiences over the past few weeks have convinced me of the importance of sacrifice in my life and that I need to be doing more of it.