The horns were mounted, waiting to be noticed. As we walked in and left later, the display was hard to ignore. The style is not mine. It did take me back to my childhood and the Texas long horns my father proudly had on display in the den. While the location has changed, six-plus decades later, I can still see them. I always want to assume the horns were the lingering reminder of an animal’s life well lived. I recognise the likelihood of a sacrifice being involved. In the recent reminder, I found myself reflecting on the sacrifice represented across many faith systems. From living a life in poverty to the resolute dedication and abstinence from the world’s pleasure to the cross, there is a shared theme of Divine sacrifice so that we might know.
With the double and triple confirmation of the realisation of Divinity’s gift, the whispers framing out today include the following.
Sacrifices are best understood as a gift. Ultimately, even when there is force involved, the loss for one is a gift to another. As a gift, the question that remains is for the future, not the past. Paul describes his response; “Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!” (Romans 5.11). My response today will be my version of the same.
Sacrifices speak to something greater than the loss. In my reflection of one who walked in poverty, striving to understand and realise the Divine within, I am inspired. In understanding the disciplines of prayer and abstinence from worldly pleasures, I see Divinity with more clarity. In knowing I have been restored, I can move with confidence that the end of my story is already written.
Sacrifices live on, just differently. In my understanding and knowledge, an opportunity for compassion, caring, and community is created. It is in experiencing the cycle of life that I see and accept the invitation to be God-like.
