Sacrifice As A Lifestyle
by Dan Jones, M.D.
Matthew 19: 21-22
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
In the previous devotional, you learned of the story of Deacon Yoon and the spiritual joy he experienced through sacrificial giving. As I worked those seven years in Korea, I came to know Deacon Yoon well. We became friends.
As I was preparing to complete my work in Korea and return to the United States, Deacon Yoon was preparing for retirement from Baptist Hospital. He came to me one day during that time to ask that I pray with him about something. He had come to understand that God's will for his life in retirement was to help with the building of a Christian camp for children. He planned to oversee the construction of the buildings. The concern he brought for prayer was that the fund for the building was thousands of dollars short of what was needed to begin construction. There was a deadline only a few weeks away for beginning construction or risk losing all the zoning and building permits necessary. The project was in jeopardy.
I did pray with Deacon Yoon, and even attempted to find some money for the cause. Days later, Deacon Yoon came back to visit with me. As he opened my door, the smile on his face told me he had found the necessary funds. He did indeed come to share that God had provided an answer to his prayers. I couldn't imagine where he had come across so much money in such a short time.
He explained that one day as he was praying God had reminded him of the tent he and his family had called home for two years several years earlier. He located his tent in his storage and was pleased to discover it was still in good shape. He realized he could use the tent to live at the construction site for the camp and save the time of commuting from his home in the city. And he realized that the value of his home was just the amount needed to finish the fund for building the camp. So, for the second time in his life, he sold his home to give the money to a cause for Kingdom purposes.
Few of us have the level of faith or commitment demonstrated by Deacon Yoon. But we all can learn something about physical sacrifice and spiritual blessings from his life. Knowing Deacon Yoon has been a blessing in my life. I pray God will teach me more about testing His spiritual generosity by allowing me to be more generous with what He has given me.
Lord, make me more generous with others out of the abundance you have provided for me.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
