You are probably familiar with the concept of sacrifice. But unless you’re a big sports fan, you might not know about how sacrifice relates to baseball. In baseball, a sacrifice bunt is when a batter just barely hits the ball, knowing that he will be out before he gets to first base. But he does this so that his other teammates can move forward, maybe even gaining a run for the team - and winning. The batter’s sacrifice is for the good of the team, even though it means that he’ll be out and go back to the bench.

As important as it is to baseball strategy, this sort of sacrifice is not as important as some others.  However, it does illustrate an important component of sacrifice. Sacrifice doesn’t just benefit one person; it benefits a whole team. We are called to be sacrificial, to give up what we love for the sake of the Gospel. We are called to put others before ourselves, not just for the sake of one person but the sake of us all. In this way, we are called to “walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” as Ephesians says (Ephesians 5:2).

In our selfish world, sacrificing for our neighbors in big and small ways will make an impact both on them and on our communities, and I believe it will ultimately affect our entire team – the whole world. Let’s reach the world for Christ through our sacrifices.              

This is Luis Palau.