Sermonette: Sugar Cookie
Our Spiritual Offering as a Sweet Smelling Aroma
#1814-AMs
Bill Onisick
Given 19-Apr-25; 20 minutes
description: The Navy Seal training program has instituted a rigorous and humbling "sugar cookie" program in which trainees are arbitrarily forced to endure excruciating discomfort and humiliation, providing a striking and compelling metaphor for spiritual growth. These torturous trials evaluate emotional and mental resilience, humility, and the willingness to submit to authority, even when it is obviously unfair. We, as Jesus Christ's disciples, are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, especially in difficult moments when we are motivated to retaliate, mimicking Christ's example of suffering with grace, refusing to repay evil with evil, enabling us to be a sweet-smelling sacrifice (I Peter 3:8-17). Observing the burnt offering, symbolizing total devotion to God, followed by the grain offering, symbolizing service to others, and finally the peace offering, symbolizing fellowship and harmony, we learn to imitate Christ in every role-as the offeror, offering, and priest. As we live a sacrificial life, we are built into a spiritual house, united as the priesthood of Almighty God. When we endure hardship, we learn to live up to our calling to be like Christ- humble, faithful, and patient, bringing spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Almighty God.