Sunday, 19^th October, 2025

Alex Buabeng-Korsah

TOPIC: SACRIFICIAL LOVE

THEME SCRIPTURE: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”— Luke 9:23 (NIV)

PREPARATORY QUESTION

1. How is the believer in Christ supposed to take up his cross and follow Jesus daily?

True love—Christ-like love—costs something. It does not simply feel, it gives. It does not merely observe suffering; it enters into it. And it does not preserve itself above all else; it lays itself down. This is the scandal and strength of sacrificial love: in losing, we find. In giving, we gain.

Beloved, this principle of love runs against every natural instinct. We are wired to protect our time, our energy, our comfort.

 However, Jesus calls His disciples not to a life of preservation but of surrender. Take up your cross daily—not once, but every single day.

This kind of love costs. It may mean forgiving when you're still aching. Listening when you’d rather withdraw. Showing up when it would be easier to stay home. But in those costly moments, the Spirit does something remarkable—He transforms sacrifice into strength. You become more like Christ.

C.S. Lewis, reflecting on the risk of loving deeply, wrote: “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. … The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is Hell.”

St. John Chrysostom said, “The mark of a Christian is not how much he knows, but how much he loves”.  And the measure of that love is not convenience— it is cost.

But take heart: God does not waste a single act of sacrificial love. Each hidden kindness, each quiet act of obedience, each painful choice to give when it hurts is seen by the Father—and it shapes eternity.

Precious one, you may feel weak, spent, unrecognized. But it is often in those moments that the Spirit’s power is most present. You are never more like Christ than when you love at a cost. So love deeply.

Remain blessed.

FURTHER READING: Luke 9

Call to Salvation: Today is your day if you have not received salvation by turning over your life to Jesus Christ. Click here to do so.

QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU MEDITATE ON THE WORD

1. Where is Christ calling me to love beyond what’s comfortable?
2. What have I been protecting that I might be called to surrender in love?
3. How has sacrificial love shaped me in the past?

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, You gave Yourself fully—even unto death—for my sake. Forgive my desire for safe, easy love. Strengthen me to deny myself, take up my cross daily, and follow You wherever You lead. Teach me to love not just with words, but with costly, courageous action. Fill me with the power of Your Spirit, that I might reflect Your love in this broken world. In Jesus' precious name. Amen

One-Year Bible Reading Plan.

Psalm 127; Revelation 7; Esther 6