Weekly Message
YOUR SACRIFICE SHOULD COST YOU SOMETHING!
Then the king said to Araunah, "No but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing..." (2 Samuel 24:24)
Do you remember attending Sunday School as a child? Your parents gave you a dime, quarter, or maybe even more to put into the offering plate. As a good child you always put the entire amount into the plate as you were told to do. Of course it was easy to do at that time because it was not really your money anyway. You did not have a job. It did not really cost you anything. Of course as we grew up and started earning our way in life, we found it more difficult to part with our holdings. Now when we give, it cost us something.
This is not a message just about giving money. But giving our time to the Kingdom of God is also important. There are times when serving in ministry requires sacrifices that we would rather not make. There are relationships that can be difficult to have. Our lives can truly be inconvenienced sometimes when we are trying to do things God's way. But when we think about how good God has been to us, we can't help but feel the way King David felt when he said, " I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing."
In the passage above, David had committed sin by numbering the people of Israel and Judah. His act was one of pride and demonstrated a lack of faith. However, God's judgment on David's sin included mercy by God. On the advice of Gad, David was to erect an alter before God on the threshing floor of Araunah. It was then that Araunah offered to make a gift to David of everything David needed for the offering. However David refused Araunah's offer because David realized that any sacrifice to the Lord should cost him something.
When we think about the countless times that God has shown us grace and mercy, we should want to sacrifice our time, our resources, and our lives to Him in ways that cost us something. Our sacrifice is not the same if it comes from parents, grandparents, etc. on our behalf. Our sacrifice should be "OUR" sacrifice. And it should cost us something. After all, God sacrificed for us when He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins. That sacrifice cost Jesus something. It cost Him his life. I think our sacrifices should cost us something too!