Reasonable sacrifice.

There was this comic in The Star paper I came across. It was a picture of a guy standing in a supermarket food's section which was divided into two categories. On one side, a big board hanging down from the ceiling saying : "Tastes good, bad for health". The another side, the board says : "Tastes bad, good for health".

Doing the right thing is always harder than doing the wrong, isn't it? Refusing an invitation from a friend to have some "fun" makes us unpopular and uncool. Obeying our parents and following curfew deprives us from the joys of being young and energetic. Taking the initiative to mend a broken relationship puts our ego at risk. Saying sorry even though we believe we're right might cause others to think that we can be pressed down easily. Wanting to stay a virgin till marriage positions us as old-fashion...

"This tastes bad... Are you sure it's good for me?"

Doing things disregarding our parents' orders, our leaders' advices, or even the law, could be quite fulfilling. The excitement, the rush, the high... Tastes good, but only for a moment. How do I know?

I've heard men in their old age speak about how all the momentary pleasures of the world caused enormous hurt and great sorrow to self and everyone around them. To end their life story, all of them almost issue this same statement cum warning : "I thank Jesus for giving me true joy and peace. I'm grateful that He took away all my sin. Young people, don't follow my footsteps!!"

There are mixed reactions to such stories... "Aiya, I'm not him what...", "I won't go that far one, just want to try once only", "Only people that has so much problems need Jesus, not me...", "The bible never said that this is wrong..."

The bible provides light and wisdom concerning this matter:

1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed
lest he fall.

Psalm 34:8 Oh taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blsssed is the man who trusts in Him.

Now that's good advice... Come, taste and see that the Lord is good. All you ever need can be found in Him.

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethen, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Jesus suffered on the cross not because it was the easy thing to do... He too struggled to go through with it, pleading with His Father to spare Him the pain. But He did it, because it was the right to do... And He proved that God's will is good and perfect. The cup was bitter, but Jesus carried on... The ugly, bloody cross, became a beautiful cross to those who understood what Jesus had actually done...

Now, was it reasonable for Him to suffer that way?