Love as sacrifice is a profound principle that shines through the sacrificial laws, revealing the depth of dedication God desires from His children. The difficult part of expressing love lies in laying ourselves out in sacrifice, for without this, we may never find solutions to our relationship problems. Love, as shown in the keeping of God's commandments, produces its own illumination, enabling us to see and navigate through the darkness of relational conflicts. If we fail to sacrifice for others, even for those closest to us like parents or spouses, we risk creating discord and missing the peace that comes from such acts of love. True love requires us to make sacrifices, reflecting the total devotion exemplified by Jesus Christ in the offerings, and in doing so, we demonstrate our understanding of faith, love, and the connection between complete dedication to God, to Christ, and to our fellow man.

The essence of godly love is deeply tied to sacrifice, reflecting a profound cost that must be borne by the one who loves. Love, as exemplified by God, always involves a price, whether minor or immense, sometimes requiring the surrender of that which is most precious for the well-being of another, even someone disliked. This principle is evident in the supreme act of God giving His Son, a clear demonstration that love demands significant personal cost. This costliness is a vital part of love's nature. As seen in the account of David in II Samuel 24:24, true love cannot be expressed through a sacrifice that costs nothing; David refused to offer a sacrifice at another's expense, understanding that genuine love requires personal investment. Thus, every act of love, no matter how small, involves giving something of oneself. Furthermore, the life of Jesus Christ serves as the standard for measuring acts of love. Though He was rich, He became poor; though in the form of God, He humbled Himself, taking on the form of man and becoming subject to death. His entire life was spent for mankind, showing that love is a continuous expenditure of self for others' benefit. We may not face the same ultimate sacrifice, but on a daily basis, we are called to make costly payments in acts of love. Even in His final moments with His disciples, Jesus demonstrated this costly love by placing Judas, His betrayer, in a position of honor at the Last Passover, seeking reconciliation despite knowing the betrayal to come. This act underscores that love persists even towards those who reject it, bearing a personal cost without guarantee of reciprocation. Ultimately, godly love is an action that often requires us to overcome personal feelings, driven by a reasoned effort to follow God's commands. It is perfected through use, growing stronger and more skilled as it is practiced, always at a cost to oneself, yet returning blessings in its cycle of giving. This sacrificial nature of love binds the fellowship of God's people, strengthening the body to bear witness to His presence and care in the world.

Sacrifice is the essence of love that God desires from us each day. Jesus Christ's sacrifice, both substitutional and representative, sets the standard for our daily living sacrifices. His offering opened the door to a relationship with God, allowing Their Spirit to dwell within us. As imitators of God, we are called to walk in love through sacrifice, mirroring Christ's example by giving ourselves as offerings to God. This daily sacrifice involves burnt offerings of our mind, time, repentance, obedience, prayer, study, and praise, which put to death our carnal nature and enable God's Spirit to work in us. Through grain offerings, we sacrifice our egos and selfish desires to serve others, creating peace. Only when these sacrifices are performed together with the right attitude do we achieve perfect communion with God and fellow man, reflecting the peace offering. The English word "love" has been diluted, often representing mere emotion rather than the sacrificial action God requires. True love, as sacrifice, demands giving up something valuable, denying personal desires, and enduring loss or suffering for a greater benefit. Kindness, a fruit of God's Spirit, embodies this humble sacrifice. It requires effort to put on, manifesting through compassionate thoughts, words, gestures, and deeds. Enabled by God's Spirit through daily sacrifices, kindness allows us to serve others without expectation of return, regardless of whether it is deserved. God's unmerited kindness toward us, extended when we were undeserving, empowers us to offer spiritual sacrifices of kindness to all, transforming our selfish nature into a selfless, godly mind. Kindness is not optional for God's called; it is a necessary response to the forgiveness and compassion we have received from Him. True kindness arises from spiritual transformation and submission to God, especially in challenging situations. It is given freely to everyone, both the thankful and the unthankful, reflecting God's character. When we struggle to extend kindness, the issue lies in our relationship with God, indicating a lack of complete daily burnt offerings. Understanding God's mercy and kindness empowers us through His Spirit to exhibit daily sacrifices of kindness, producing unity and peace with God and fellow man. Each act of kindness, no matter how small, transforms us, fostering a heart attuned to others' needs and ready to serve when opportunities arise. Sacrifice, as the bond of perfection, suffers long and is kind, embodying the daily living sacrifice we are called to exemplify.

God's ultimate desire from us is sacrifice, mirroring the profound gift He first bestowed upon humanity. Before the foundation of the world, God the Father and Jesus Christ devised a plan of sacrifice to redeem mankind, as seen in I Peter 1:18-19, where we are redeemed not with corruptible things but with the precious blood of Christ. This sacrifice, foreordained and foundational to salvation, is the means by which we come to know Him and are transformed into His image through our own sacrifices. Sacrifice, as an expression of love, is evident throughout the scriptures, beginning with Genesis 3:15, where God's planned sacrifice to defeat sin is prophesied immediately after sin's entry into the world. This theme continues with Abel's more excellent sacrifice in Genesis 4, reflecting an early understanding of God's requirements for proper sacrifice. The vast array of sacrifices in Leviticus, from burnt offerings symbolizing devotion to God to grain offerings representing service to man, underscores this principle. These offerings, particularly the burnt, grain, and peace offerings, carry a sweet-smelling aroma to God, signifying their purity and devotion, while sin and trespass offerings highlight separation from sin. Jesus Christ embodies the essence of all sacrificial offerings, living each day as a perfect burnt, grain, and peace offering in devotion to God and service to man. His ultimate sacrifice, as the once-for-all sin and trespass offering, opens the door to our relationship with God, enabling us to respond with our own sacrifices of praise, thanks, and humble repentance, as urged in Hebrews 13:15. Our daily acts of sacrifice—obedience, prayer, and service—allow God's Spirit to dwell within us, transforming our carnal nature into a God-focused and others-focused nature. Love as sacrifice extends to our interactions with others, requiring us to offer unmerited sacrifices through controlling our thoughts, bridling our tongue, giving of our time and resources, and forgiving wrongdoings. These sacrifices, akin to the grain offerings, are inseparable from our burnt offerings of devotion to God, as both must be present to be acceptable. In Hebrews 13:12-16, the order of sacrifice begins with Christ's sin offering, followed by our burnt offering of devotion to God, and then our grain offering of service to man, culminating in the peace offering of unity with God and His Family. Sacrifice, by definition, involves a cost—denying what we desire, losing what we value, or enduring suffering for a greater benefit to others. Our carnal nature resists this, fearing the loss of self-esteem, yet we are called to reframe sacrifice as a spiritual investment with eternal dividends. God's unmerited sacrifice for humanity, covering the sins of all time, exemplifies this principle, and we learn to mirror it by offering unmerited sacrifices to others, even when undeserved, as a means of becoming like Him. Through daily sacrifices in service to God and man, as Paul beseeches in Romans 12, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. These sacrifices, both merited and unmerited, are essential, for without the grain offering of service to man, our burnt offering of devotion to God holds no value. Walking in God's Spirit of unmerited sacrifice, as described in Galatians 5:13-23, we crucify our selfish nature, replacing satan's way of getting with God's way of giving, and bear the fruit of humble sacrifice. Thus, sacrifice is not merely one aspect of our calling but everything, the very means by which we are built into a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, as Peter admonishes in I Peter 2.

Love, as revealed in the Bible, holds supreme importance to life, surpassing even faith, hope, prophecy, sacrifice, knowledge, and other gifts from God. Unlike these gifts, which may become obsolete or situational, love remains eternally necessary and useful. It is the attribute that enables us to receive and use God's gifts without corruption, preventing pride and destruction that can arise from power or knowledge when unaccompanied by love. Love is not merely a feeling or preference, nor is it unbridled emotion or lust, but a deliberate action that binds individuals and communities together, maintaining unity amidst friction. Love is also an expression of sacrifice, demonstrated by a strength and determination so profound that an individual will endure long-term sacrifice, even for enemies, and ultimately give themselves completely in death for others' well-being without expecting reciprocation. This sacrificial aspect of love reflects the divine nature, empowered by the same Spirit that enabled Jesus Christ to act in such a manner. Obedience to God's commands is the proof of this love, as it is an action that submits to His principles and examples, producing right and good results because God's very nature is love. True love, therefore, is not just a cold, dutiful act but can be shown with joyous enthusiasm and warmhearted devotion, though the act of obedience itself remains paramount, even if the proper emotions are yet to form.