Tonight, I’m thinking about Jesus’ sacrifice in the light of this quote from Frederick Buechner:

“To sacrifice something is to make it holy by giving it away for love.” [1]

Jesus’ life was holy before he was crucified. It was holy because he was giving it away throughout his entire life. His birth was a gift grounded in love. His ministry was a gift grounded in love. His healings and his miracles were gifts grounded in love. He had given away his life, he had made it holy, long before the cross. The cross was his greatest—but by no means his only—sacrifice.

We will probably not be called to give up our lives and die for others, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot make our lives holy. We can do so hour by hour, day by day, and year by year.

[1] Frederick Buechner, “Sacrifice,” in Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’s of Faith (New York: HarperCollins, 2004).