Sacre

Sacre is a very nice root word meaning holy. 

Consecrate-become holy together. 

Sacrament-holy way. 

Sacrifice-causing or making holy

I really like that one. Sacrifice is causing or making something to become holy. You hear cute definitions that it is giving up something to get something better, but I paused to think is it really giving something up in that way?

When we sacrifice are we simply giving up willingly that which we would not be able to take and would be stripped from us in the next life anyway. Like wise we can only have something sacrificed that is yours. Hence sin does not count as a sacrifice. It makes you holy, but you don't have a choice in the matter eventually. Eventually all sin will be paid for in full, none will be transported into the Kingdoms of Glory. More importantly and related; it is not yours. It has already been purchased.

So I thought what is a sacrifice. 

Something that makes us more like God. But that is super vague. 

Causing to become holy. 

We can only sacrifice what is ours. 

I realized that we only, truly sacrifice our will then. Things that others count as sacrifice are not making people holy. The things that we sacrifice are already God's. 

I think about early Jewish sacrifice with the season of the Pascal Lamb. An innocent lamb was to be sacrificed for a persons sins. The lamb did not take away the persons sin nor make them holy. But seeing an innocent animal die, in similitude of the Savior, was to invoke in their hearts and minds a change. 

They were to see things in a new way. They were to put away sin, to give their wills to God that they might become more like Him. They were putting every bad part of themselves on the alter with that animal, and letting the fire of the alter purge it away. As you would be watching that innocent animal slain for you would you sit and count sin that you were and were not willing to lay on the alter?

God does not want our sacrifice of animals nor did He of the ancients.

He wants a broken heart and contrite spirit. He wants our dreams, our hopes, our plans, our fears, our will.

In return he has promised us His Spirit to always be with us. 

This Easter may we consider a sacrifice that is worthy of the Savior. Not a sacrifice of beast, but a sacrifice designed to make us holy.