A Fiery Sacrifice

“In a Tibetan village I noticed a crowd of people standing under a burning tree and looking up into the branches. I came near and discovered in the branches a bird which was anxiously flying round a nest full of young ones. The mother bird wanted to save her little ones, but she could not. When the fire reached the nest the people waited breathlessly to see what she would do. No one could climb the tree, no one could help her. Now she could easily have saved her own life by flight, but instead of fleeing she sat down on the nest, covering the little ones carefully with her wings. The fire seized her and burnt her to ashes. She showed her love to her little ones by giving her life for them. If then, this little insignificant creature had such love, how much more must our Heavenly Father love His children, the Creator love His creatures!” ~ Sadhu Sundar Singh

When I first read this many months ago, I began to sob greatly because I became overwhelmed with the fact that the Creator of the universe has even put His character into the smallest of His creation. This little bird was driven to preserve life even though it knew it would lose its own in the process.

Truly this is a beautiful picture of our Saviors love for us and the extent He went through to preserve us for eternal life. However, I want to look at this story in a different light today.

A few months after reading this story, something made me remember it. I began pondering it and I begin to see the deeper meaning in it – not that protecting life isn’t important but I saw something different – from another angle.

When the fires of persecution begin to blaze, and they will soon, how far will people go to protect their salvation? Will they go so far as to fly back into the flames to protect it?

Salvation is a gift to be protected, guarded and acted upon. Love in Hebrew simply means to guard and protect that which has been given to you as a gift. This includes family, and yes…salvation!

What does it mean to guard, protect and act upon your salvation? In the Hebrew, to guard something means to ‘keep’ it. According to Jeff Benner’s Ancient Hebrew research, he says this about the word guard (keep):

“The Hebrew word for “keep” is “shamar” which literally means “to guard”. A related word is “shamiyr” which means “thorn”. When the shepherd was out in the wilderness with his flock, he would construct a corral of thorn bushes to protect the sheep from predators, a guarding over of the sheep.”

To protect your salvation (sheep), the shepherd (you) must act in guarding it (putting a border around it to keep out the predators)

In Matthew 25, it talks about a master that went on a journey and left behind talents for his servants according to their abilities. When the master returned to find out that the one servant whom he had given the one talent to had done nothing with it but bury it, the master took what he had away from him and gave it to the one that had the most talents.

What does this all mean? It means that those that possess (doing something with their gift) will receive more and those that do not possess, even what they have will be taken from them and that person (servant) be cast into outer darkness. Possession simply is a word meaning that you are taking action on something – holding onto something. In the case of salvation, it means to daily guard your thoughts and mind against the enemy. It means to put on the helmet of salvation to protect your mind from the daily onslaught of the enemy. It means to build a hedge of protection around what is most valuable to you.

Many have been taught growing up thinking that because they walked down the aisle at an early age to Amazing Grace, asked ‘Jesus’ into their hearts and signed the church membership card, that everything is ok with them and that is the extent of their salvation experience. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this beautiful picture of salvation.

I received ‘Jesus’ into my heart at the age of 4 years old. My mom presented the salvation message to me and my sister using a flannel board. These are precious moments in people’s lives – However – It is not how you begin that matters, but how you end up!

I am now grown up and what have I done with the gift that was given to me? The gift I received? Read Matthew 25:14-30 and find out how the Master will treat those whom He has given of this most awesome gift.  

 “And I am perfect before Him, And I guard myself from my crookedness.” (Psalms 18:23 ISR98)

To guard yourself from crookedness is to be vigilant against sin. David was a man who became an enemy of sin. He went so far as to say “I hate the things You hate and I love the things You love”. Yahushua said: “Those that endure to the end shall be saved.”

What is this post all about today? It’s about sacrificing the temporal for the eternal. It’s about keeping, protecting and guarding what is most precious. When the fires rage through the coming tribulation, will you fly away to falsely ‘save’ yourself or go down with the ship of true salvation?

Re-read the Sundar Singh story above then ask yourself this one question. Is it worth abandoning the very gift that will save you?

The mother bird knew that although she would be free from harm if she abandoned her little ones, the pain of living without them would be a never ending torture. It never entered her mind to leave her little ones. This is in essence the very fabric of the nature the Creator placed within His creation — to preserve life even if means to lose your own.

Not protecting the very gift of salvation – although seemingly ‘free’ to do as you want – will eventually lead to never ending torture; for Messiah said not to fear the one who can kill the body only, but to fear the One who has the power to kill both body AND soul.

Repentance is a gift from the Spirit of Yahuweh – it is not a guaranteed gift. It takes true repentance to be saved. Quick repentance is what protects, keeps and secures your salvation.

If your not protecting your salvation now – when the tree begins to burn, it will be easy to abandon it all; for if the ‘nest’ of salvation is not worth saving now, before the burning – it most certainly will not be worth saving when the fires rage and blaze…