You need to realise that life is about sacrifices, that living demands sacrifice. For every value you desire to have, there is a price in sacrifice that is needed. It is okay to demand the mountain peak, but laying claim to it ultimately requires sacrifice. Every dimension in God that you want to explore, though free, requires some form of sacrifice. In general, life demands sacrifices.
Value-added sacrifice (VAS) is the sacrifice that is placed on the value you want to accomplish. Think of it as the value-added tax (VAT), which is a tax that the government places on a value you acquire. The higher the worth of that value, the higher VAT you pay, although the percentage remains invaried.
In VAS, the higher the value you desire to have, the more sacrifice it will require to get it. For example, a person who desires to become a professional bodybuilder will sacrifice more to accomplish that goal compared to one that exercises solely for health purposes. Both goals are valid, but the profession of the former demands more rigorous exercises.
How much you’re willing to pay (sacrifice) for that value you desire shows how much that value is worth to you. If you consider a thing quite important, you’ll be willing to give up most things to have it.
The merchantman in Matthew 13:45 had to sell all he had just to purchase a field that had goodly pearls because he considered those pearls more valuable than all his precious possessions put together.
The questions are: how much is your Christian life worth to you? or rather, how much are you willing to sacrifice to maintain your faith in Christ Jesus?
How valuable are your dreams and how much are you willing to sacrifice to accomplish them?
How much is your family worth and what are you willing to give up to make sure the family stays together?
Remember, what you are willing to sacrifice for a thing is directly proportional to the value you place on it.
“… and how I am straitened till it be accomplished!” – Luke 12:50.
