How to Become a Living Sacrifice
God doesn’t expect us to blindly follow any religion. He does, however, expect us to give everything to the process of faith
I was running with a dear friend this week when the run-versation topic turned to trials of faith.
As we each shared our personal struggles, I was reminded of a story in the life of the Savior:
After performing a series of “feel-good” miracles and attracting a large number of followers (he had just fed five thousand in one sitting), Christ began teaching about sacrifice and redemption through new means.
Inconsistent with their current faith and uncomfortable to their ears, the crowd began openly questioning the divinity of “Joseph’s son,” proclaiming “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?”
Next we read, the giant crowd had all but evaporated, leaving just a few handfuls of disciples.
To them, Christ turned and asked “will ye also go away?”
Peter answered the Savior’s question with a question:
“Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”
The truth is that we all have ample opportunity to take issue with organized faith, whether it be from perplexing scriptural accounts, uncomfortable remarks from leaders, or policies that seem incongruous with our idea of true gospel living.
I doubt this is a coincidence. I think God, fully aware of our imperfections and inability to think as he does, intentionally created these “gaps” along our personal path to perfection, so that we have to wrestle to find truth.
This process naturally requires sacrifice, often sacrifice of the things we think we hold most dear. Perhaps this is what Paul meant when he wrote “I beseech you therefore… that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.”
God never expects us to blindly follow after any faith. He expects us to bump up against it our faith, even get knocked down by it at times, and yet always find a better way back up.
Asking “Lord, to whom else shall I go?” reminds me that, notwithstanding the confusion, I have been blessed in my life to hear words of eternal life. If some days those words make little sense… so be it.
Thankfully, we’ve each been blessed with just enough hope and faith to believe that, in time, the gaps along this mortal existence will be filled and that all the wrestling will have been well worth the sweat and tears.
Sacrifice, it seems, is the only reasonable path to progression.
Thanks for reading!
My name is Dave Smurthwaite, I’m a husband, father of four amazing boys, owner of a 16-year-old puppy, and an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The views expressed above represent my personal path of faith. I’m eager to hear about your path.
If you’re interested, feel free to follow our family of eight as we’ve embarked on a journey of self-discovery, living in Spain, Rwanda, Vietnam, and Colombia over the next year. Find our stories here or Instagram (IG ID: @thesmurthwaites)
