A Sacrificial Head
The sermon emphasizes the importance of sacrificial love as the highest law of life, demonstrated through the cross of Calvary, which reveals God's character and nature.
Selwyn Hughes preaches on the principle of self-sacrifice and losing one's life for the sake of Christ, emphasizing that true life and purpose are found in surrendering to God's will and serving others selflessly. He illustrates this with examples of a seed that must die to produce a harvest and a mother's sacrificial love for her child. Hughes highlights that sacrificial love is the most beautiful and elevating aspect of life, reflecting God's sacrificial nature seen in Jesus' death on the cross.
Text
"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." (v. 24)
For reading & meditation:
Luke 9:18-27
Suppose a tiny seed had a will of its own and decided to save itself by refusing to be buried. It would abide alone. It would save itself but would not save others. When it decided to be buried and die, then the result would be a golden harvest. Take a mother: she goes down into the valley of the shadow of death to bring a child into the world. When the child becomes ill, a loving mother forgets herself and spends her strength to give everything she has to the child. The spirit of self-giving is the most beautiful thing in life. Through it life rises to the highest level. "The extent of the elevation of an animal and of course any free moral agent," said Pascal, the great French Christian and philosopher, "can be infallibly measured"by the degree to which sacrificial love for others controls that being." Here is a law by which life may be evaluated and judged. When the sacrificial spirit is absent from life, that life is of the lowest kind; where it is perfectly embodied, that life is highest on the scale of being. Is this law to be found in God also? I believe it is. If this law holds true on earth but is reversed in relation to God, then laws are meaningless and the universe is without a Head. Then the highest in mankind would be better than God. But such is not the case. God is not a disappointment. The cross shouts out to all who will hear that the universe has a sacrificial Head.
O Father, how could I know that there is an unseen cross lying in Your heart unless You had shown me by the outer cross raised up on Calvary? Such revelation is almost too much for me to comprehend. Yet it is true. My gratitude will just not go into words. Amen.
Sermon Outline
- The Law of Sacrificial Love
- The law of sacrificial love is the highest law of life
- It is the measure of an animal's or moral agent's elevation
- It is the key to a life of true greatness
Key Quotes
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” — Selwyn Hughes
“The extent of the elevation of an animal and of course any free moral agent, can be infallibly measured by the degree to which sacrificial love for others controls that being.” — Selwyn Hughes
“The cross shouts out to all who will hear that the universe has a sacrificial Head.” — Selwyn Hughes
Application Points
- You can apply the law of sacrificial love by being willing to give yourself for the benefit of others.
- The cross of Calvary is a revelation of God's sacrificial love and is the key to understanding His character and nature.
- A life of true greatness is achieved through the principle of self-giving and sacrificial love.