Does Christ’s sacrifice create a sacrificial person?

There’s a question at the heart of the gospel that is easy to answer in theory, but much harder to answer in practice:

Does Christ’s sacrifice create a sacrificial person?

Every week, as we take the bread and wine, we remember what Jesus gave for us. But remembrance was never meant to be just a ritual. If we really understand the cross, it should begin to reshape the way we live.

Jesus’ example in Matthew 27 is striking because, even in the face of humiliation, injustice and suffering, he willingly submitted to his Father’s will. He did not live for himself. And that is the pattern we are called to follow.

As Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 5, Christ died so that those who live should “no longer live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them”.

That kind of life can take many forms.

Abraham gave up security. Moses gave up position. Ruth stepped into uncertainty. Jonathan put aside his own ambition for David. Nathan risked his comfort to speak an uncomfortable truth. Barnabas was willing to serve without needing recognition. The Good Samaritan gave his time and resources to someone he did not even know. Paul poured out his life in service to others.

None of these sacrifices looked exactly the same.

And ours probably won’t either.

Most of the time, sacrificial living is not dramatic. It might simply mean giving someone our time when we would rather be doing something else. Listening instead of talking. Forgiving when we feel justified in holding onto a grievance. Helping without needing to be noticed. Putting another person’s needs ahead of our own convenience.

That is where the challenge becomes personal.

When we leave the memorial meeting, does remembering Christ change how we speak to our family? How patient we are with our brothers and sisters? How we behave at work? How we treat the stranger, the difficult person, or the person who can give us nothing in return?

The bread and wine point us back to the greatest act of selflessness the world has ever seen.

But they also point us forward.

Because the purpose of remembering a sacrificial Christ is that, little by little, we become sacrificial people too.