"God's Desires"

Saturday, March 29, 2014

The reflection booklet comes just short, today, of pointing out that when God explains that He wants not burnt offerings and sacrifices but love and knowledge of God, He's being somewhat coy.  Love is measured in sacrifice -- Jesus's self-sacrifice was the ultimate sign of God's love for us.  It's the foundation of all of our knowledge of God and of our love for Him.

It's a good thing to remember in Lent.  That even when it seems arbitrary (no meat on Fridays) or self-imposed (Lenten observances): sacrifices big and small show love.  They are signs and measurements of love.

I read recently that how much you love someone is what you are willing to give up or do for them without that person ever knowing that you did so.  So it's not for glory or gratitude or any desire to manipulate them into feeling more or less.  It's just a sacrifice you are willing to make for no return.  It's just a measure of your willingness to put their needs and desires above your own.

So what God really means is not that He doesn't value sacrifice but that He doesn't value sacrifice in itself.  It is not that God feels strongly about the consumption of meat on Fridays.  He cares for our signs and shows and sacrifices only in how they measure real cost.  Only in the love that they show.  Only that they are done in the name of love.

It's not just intention over action, although there is some of that.  It's about content over form and finding something truly meaningful to do rather than a way to show your sacrifice and love.  Being willing to sacrifice even when no one is looking.  Yes, God always is, but could you do it even if He weren't?  Could you love when no one is watching?  Would you love differently, sacrifice differently, if no one would ever know?  Not even God?

Real sacrifice is private and painful and done from a place of love -- not pride or guilt or desire to please and change.  It's love, measured and weighed and then given freely.