Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners. ~Matthew 9:13 [CSB]
Fourteen-year-old Abrahamek Koplowicz wanted to fly, but the teen never reached his goal. Murdered in 1943 by the Nazis in Auschwitz, his journal was found in an attic. The words live on today, displayed at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum:
When I grow up and get to be twenty
I’ll travel and see this world of plenty.
In a bird with an engine I will sit myself down,
Take off and fly into space, far above the ground.
I’ll fly, I’ll cruise and soar up high
Above a world so lovely, into the sky…
Abrahamek’s poem inspires me to practice three life-long learning tenets with action, focus, and intentionality: (1) Gratitude; (2) Fail forward; and (3) Present today. The Jewish boy couldn’t realize his dream of flight but I have fuel for a clear why toward things in my life either achieved or underway: Family, career, schooling, certifications, business ventures, ministries, relationships, hobbies. God, how are you at work in my life with a context of eternity?
Jesus taught: Sacrifice matters to God when stemming from a heart of compassion, humility, submission. The King James Bible version adds the two words ‘toward repentance’ at the end of Matthew 9:13. God was done with ritual killing of bulls, lambs, pigeons, etc. in a religious tradition. When He allowed the sacrifice of His sinless Son Jesus on the cross, God tore the veil of religion. He opened an invitation to repentance of sin into a relationship with Him based on faith in Jesus’ resurrection. Hosea 6:6 puts it like this: For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings [CSB]. Understanding what matters to God’s heart helps me use why to strive forward.
The law and religion represent forms of outward expression – replaced by freedom of inward-expressed compassion that is found only in Christ. Learning within the aeronautics profession remains what I do, but it’s not what I do that matters, it’s why: To honor Him. Abrahamek Koplowicz’ story helps me practice gratitude, failing forward, and being present today.
- What can I learn?
- How can I grow?
- Who can I serve?
Thank You, God, for opportunity to make my life matter.
How can you shift from sacrifice to compassion?
Are you a life-long learner?
Flight and Faith blog: drmitchellmorrison.com