One episode of “Foyle’s War,” a British detective drama set during World War II, featured a band of children collecting paper, fat, scrap metal and everything else they could find for the war effort. Chief Detective Superintendent Foyle had everything he could do to prevent the kids from carrying off the aluminum fire bucket from the police station. It reminded me of the sacrifices everyone had to make during the WWII. Some of you remember rationing, buying war bonds, planting victory gardens, and having to do without things because of the war. Everybody had to sacrifice.

We don’t hear about much about making sacrifices today. Men and women in the armed services sacrifice a lot for our sake, but the average person isn’t asked to sacrifice much. I don’t think a politician could get elected asking people to make sacrifices.

That’s the way it is in the public square. What distresses me is that Christians don’t seem all that fond of talking about sacrifice either. I mentioned to a fellow Lutheran that the church offers people the cross, which calls on us to make sacrifices and even to suffer for the faith. He reacted, “We can’t tell people that. Nobody is going to join a church if you say that. You’ve got to be more upbeat.” Sigh!

Jesus taught his disciple, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” His disciples then didn’t like that very much. I suspect that’s true today. But how can we express love without sacrifice?

Read Psalm 51:17 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne