Recently I have been reading through author David McCullough's biography of John Adams. My wife had read this book shortly after it was released a few years ago, and she could hardly set it down while reading it. I began reading John Adams both to discover what was so intriguing about this "Founding Father" and to see if I could actually finish every page of this 600 plus page monster.
After reading halfway through the book thus far, I am captured most of all by the sheer sacrifice of John Adams and his family. They risked everything they held dear (including their own lives) to struggle for the liberty of the infant United States of America. John Adams spent years away from his wife and children while serving as an Ambassador to France during and after the Revolutionary War to secure freedom and trade agreements for his country. All the while, he and his wife Abigail placed a higher value on the dreams and goals of their neighbors and country than on their own personal happiness.
Reading about the Adamses makes me think about my own life and my own willingness to make sacrifices for the ministry of the Kingdom of God. I often complain when I have several nights of meetings or when it seems my work at the church is piling up on me. Surely the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is equally if not more important as working for our country. Perhaps I take too much for granted. Maybe I am more self-centered than I think I am. Maybe I am a product of my time just as John Adams was a product of a different generation with different values and expectations. Still I ask myself what I would be willing to sacrifice to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let me know what you think about making sacrifices. Should we make more sacrifices in order to serve Christ? Are Christians in the United States too comfortable to do the ministry that is required of us by God?
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