A familiar and often quoted New Testament passage is Romans 12:1 wherein the apostle Paul urges us to be a “living sacrifice” to God. This admonition calls for holiness and transformation in a world that persistently offers incentives to “be conformed” to our surroundings (v.2). The apostle’s plea is another way of saying, “Don’t get too comfortable in this world.” As I read it, much of what follows in this letter (at least through 15:13) is Paul’s application to the principle of sacrificial living. He proceeds with a call for each one “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” but to use the gifts that God has given in a rational way (v.3-8).
Every congregation of the Lord’s people needs its members to sacrifice their personal comfort and use the gifts that God has given them. Men are needed in leadership roles, including teaching publicly, and women are needed to teach children and other women. From the Hebrew epistle we learn that there is a time when we “ought to be teachers” (Heb. 5:12). Some may take the words, “Let not many of you become teachers” (Jas. 3:11) too literally and out of context. James was not telling people not to become what we ought to be. He was not discouraging teaching, but he was warning that one should not teach until he first learned what to teach.
This life of sacrifice to which we are called is not limited to being morally pure or even to being involved in the public teaching of God’s Word. This sacrificial attitude should permeate every aspect of our lives. It should impact the decisions of life here on earth as we recognize that we are merely pilgrims looking for a permanent home. When making decisions, whether great or small, we need to be willing to make sacrifices. Decisions from what clothing we wear to what job we seek or where we live ought to factor in what is best for our spiritual lives and our service to the Lord and His kingdom.
Through the years a number of Christians who had decided to relocate have sought my advice about how to choose a congregation near their prospective location. There was at least one inquiry that caused me to suggest that they change their mind about moving to a particular location because they would be too far away from any faithful church. In that case, my advice was appreciated and the family sacrificed a promotion in favor of their spiritual welfare. Some might be critical of my advice in this situation, suggesting the family start a congregation in that remote location; but such criticism usually comes from those who are comfortably settled where they have multiple congregational options. In most cases, the question of how to choose where to worship has been asked by Christians moving to a place where there were several good options. My advice was always the same: Choose a congregation where you are needed the most. Seldom did people take that advice. Too often the criteria that brethren have used is to go where they will be served the best, where they will feel most comfortable, where they will be the happiest.
However, I am encouraged that I have heard of some young couples whose occupations allow them to work remotely and who have chosen to move to locations where faithful churches are few and far between to be a great benefit to an otherwise difficult work. Also, I have occasionally heard of older couples who, in their “retirement” years, have sacrificially chosen to stay or move to places where more workers are needed. May their number increase!
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