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Church Leader, is There a Connection Between Sacrifice and Joy?

While my son was assigned to teach at the Military Academy a number of years ago, Judy and I attended our first football game at West Point’s Michie Stadium. It wasn’t our first college football game. As USC fans, we’ve cheered our Trojans through some exciting Rose Bowl games.

The experience at Michie Stadium differed greatly from our games at LA’s Coliseum or the Rose Bowl. It wasn’t the intensity of the fans that made the difference, though we couldn’t help notice the politeness of the crowd. The inappropriate taunting and swearing and the usual group of one-beer-too-many idiots replaced by the “yes-sir”-“no-sir,” family friendly atmosphere of a military community was refreshing.

It wasn’t the intensity of the active Army fans’ commitment to their team but the depth of their commitment that set them apart. One walk around the campus tells you why. On the right shoulder of every soldier and faculty member is a combat patch, proving that he or she had served in a war-zone. The undeniable reality of the joy we witnessed Saturday is this: The depth of the sacrifice determines the joy of the gathering.

I couldn’t help thinking what a difference it would make in the worship services of America if more Christians were willing to serve Christ sacrificially, even to the point of suffering. How would you characterize the gatherings of your church? A gathering of fans watching their high draft picks perform on stage, or a gathering of soldiers wearing combat patches from the battle for the rescue of men, women, boys and girls through Christ?

The writers of the New Testament saw a direct connection between the depth of our sacrifice for Jesus and the joy of our gatherings in His name. If Jesus were handing out combat patches to His followers for duty in a warzone over the last year, would you get one?

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).

Question: Do you feel the “user friendly, growth at all costs” atmosphere in many American churches has minimized commitment and therefore detracted from worship?