"Sacrifice may be painful, but is always gainful; especially when you do it out of love."
Sacrifice is painful in a way that you surrender a part of your self, or something that you really love, or someone who had touched your heart in a very special way. Gainful, because it will lead you to a wonderful place that you've never been before, a feeling of peace that you've never felt before, and somehow feeling the bucket of pain with joy and gladness in heart. Maybe the pain is worthy especially when you know that it is for the betterment of other people, or to at least save them from disparagement or jeopardy. But this isn't the point where love starts to dwindle. Because love is immeasurable, unending and unfading. It always exist even in furtive. The best example is the love and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. He spend the rest of His earthly life with His disciples. (John 13) He gave them cautions, washed their feet, ate and drank with them.. and even to the last hour, He showed them love and taught them how to love people.
What would you feel if you have to say goodbye to the people or person you really love? Dude, the Lord felt it too! How about His disciples? What would you feel if you have to give up your only hope, and be separated to the one who became your life? That after all the sacrifice you have done, after giving up all the things you have and nothing to return to, now, you have to say goodbye? So contradicting, so baffling, so ironic! This is a paradox of life and death. What the disciples do not know is that in death, there is life; in goodbye, there is hope; and in separation, there is a bridge.. A bridge of earth to heaven, a bridge of sinners to forgiveness, a bridge of unrighteousness to holliness. And that bridge is Christ. In His death, the gospel was revealed to the whole world, and the children of God was made known. Jesus Christ made the greatest sacrifice, because of the greatness of His love. That love is worth emulating.
Now, think of the most sacrificial moment of your life. Painful, isn't it? It may be quite painful, or so much painful, but it brought you to where you are now and it is no less important. You may still ask where is the peace that I'm talking about. So let me ask you a question first, why did you do it? Because you are offended? Bitter? Or because love taught you to do it? As 1Corinthians 13:3 declares, "If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." Everything we do without love means nothing.. So brethren, don't lose neither your faith nor your hope. Love endures forever, it will leads you to your God-given destiny.
"Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." -John 12:24
