A Price Worth Paying

A LIVING SACRIFICE

"I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." ~2 Samuel 24:24 New International Version

By the time King David negotiated the deal for the purchase of Araunah the Jebusite's threshing floor to build an altar, seventy thousand Israelites were dead.

Seventy thousand. Almost the population of Oak Cliff, Texas.

The Lord gave David options to reconcile his disobedience. He chose the one that kept him safe and others vulnerable. So, when I read in scripture where Araunah offers to gift King David the threshing floor and animals for sacrifice, I caught an attitude...

"David, for all the problems you caused, don't you dare take this as a gift. Put some skin in the game!"

~Me, reprimanding King David in my mind

For all the Lord has done, how he has spared us and protected us from dangers seen and unseen, who are we to come out unscathed? Who are we to leave others vulnerable when it should have been us?

Where is our skin in the game?

Don't give out of guilt, give out of respect.

Give out of reverence.

Give because it could have been you with no food and no clothes.

Give because it might have been you with no food or no clothes.

Give because it should have been you with no food or clothes.

Salvation costs you nothing.

Grace costs you nothing.

Mercy costs you nothing because our Redeemer lives!

Every day, we give to what we love. Family. Friends. Starbucks. No one questions the need to give to what is tangible, but when it comes to the eternal...

What we give to God and how we give to God has eternal consequences. He wants to be loved, too. Paying for the threshing floor was the least David could do.

Need a reason to give of yourself and your money?

I know a good one. Best investment I ever made.

His name is Jesus.

Give because you can to a God who always will.