When Did the Sacrifice of God Begin?

When did the sacrifice of God first begin? When did His heart begin to break for His precious beloved Son?

Some would say that God’s heart began to break when Jesus hung on the cross with a disfigured body drenched in blood and screeching in pain. Some might say the initiation of the Father’s sacrifice was when Jesus cried out, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" Wouldn't most parents want to run and rescue their child from the eminent danger? Wouldn't a parent’s heart break to the point of total despair? While this had to be the epitome of God’s sacrifice, it did not begin here.   

Some might say that God’s heart began to break when “…all the disciples deserted Jesus and fled.” The disciples slept instead of praying, they ran when the soldiers came and captured Jesus. None of them did for Jesus what He had asked. I ask you, “Would a parent not be heartbroken if the caregiver they entrusted their child with abandoned them and left them for torture by the enemy?” While this would have been enough to break the Father’s heart to the point of total despondency, His sacrifice did not begin here.

Some would say that God’s heart began to break in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus cried out, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Seeing the drops of blood drip from His Son’s veins, surely this had to be where God’s sacrifice began. Wouldn't a Parent‘s heart break for their child after hearing them moan with pain for relief  Yes, most parents would want to run and relieve him. Yet, God remained steadfast in His plan even though the pain being inflicted upon Jesus was also wrecking His own heart. Even in this imposing suffering, God’s sacrifice did not begin here.

Some might say that it was when Jesus’ own family of Galilee where He grew up rejected Him and “…drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.” God’s own people treated His Son as a throwaway. What parent would not be hurt if their own family rejected their child? What if the child’s grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins wanted to kill their very own grandson, granddaughter, nephew, niece and cousin? It has to be here that God’s sacrifice began! Rejection has to be the most hurtful of all pain! But no, it did not begin here.

Bloodied by torture, deserted by friends, left to suffer, and rejected by family was not the start of our Father in Heaven’s sacrifice. It was one Christmas Eve in a barn where our Father’s heart broke for His Son. Taken from the comfort of heaven, the glory of praise, the place of holiness, the home of righteousness, and the power of majesty, God lifted His son and sent Him to the squalor of a barn, where even man would not live, much less allow their own baby to be born. God took His Son from the warmth of His love and placed Him in the hatred of man’s sin. His heart broke on Christmas Eve. 

Christmas Eve, the festive time of happiness in our homes, our workplaces, our stores, and our families, is when God gave His Son to dwell among us, to live a life of suffering, and whose destiny was to die. Christmas Eve is the day God will always remember to be the beginning of His greatest sacrifice! His greatest pain! His greatest agony!

Would a parent be able to take their baby from the safety and tender comfort of his home and place him in the poverty stricken filthy trash dumps of Egypt? Would a parent love another more than their own child to sacrifice his emotional, physical and spiritual well-being so the poor in these dumps could find salvation? Most of us would say, “No, we could not.” But I say, you do this every day if you:

• Send your child to public school to be a light for Jesus.
• Send your child on mission’s trips to help the hurting.
• Welcome the sinful, the lonely, the manipulated into your home so they can experience truth, forgiveness, and love of family.
• Expose your children to the homeless, the poor, and the destitute so these can be provided with a glimpse of hope and refuge through your children.
• Open your child’s heart to the hurting, abused, and the beaten so they have opportunity to heal the wounds of sin, hardship and pain that have plagued these lost souls. 

When a parent allows their child to feel the sting of this world so they can bring the salvation of Jesus to people barren of His Spirit, His forgiveness and His love, these parents mirror God’s heart of love. They allow their hearts to be filled with His compassion; they allow their hearts to love with sacrifice not selfishness. They give their child for another as God gave His for us. This is where the greatest Sacrifice of our Father in Heaven began! This is the heart of Christmas Eve!