Is God Asking You to Give Up Something Precious?

I really loved this post on Streams in the Desert’s blog: Our Sacrifices Are Bearing Fruit. One of the most important points it brings up is that God often asks us to give Him something precious. That is one of the hard truths of our faith, but we see it in the life of Jesus. Jesus was asked to give up His precious life for the sake of our redemption. 

Priests and religious give up marriage and family to follow Jesus and bear fruit for the Kingdom. Martyrs give up their lives. Some are called to give up better paying careers to follow Jesus in doing the work of ministry. Others are called to give up having children or spouses. Still others are called to suffer something deeply during their lives a health issue, a mental health problem, or a difficult loss and offer it up for the glory of God. There are examples of big sacrifices throughout our Church's history and even today.

A look at the lives of the saints show that all are not called to the quintessential suburban life with spouses, kids, and two great careers that many of us desire without any sufferings. There may be something very near and dear to your heart that God is asking you to sacrifice for a time or for the remainder of your life.

This is worth reflecting on to discern the fruitfulness God calls you to. Is God asking you to give up something precious to follow Him? Could that gift of sacrifice bear much fruit?