All or Nothing
Today’s Verse:
And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ~2 Samuel 24:24
A chaplain was ministering to a soldier in the hospital and said, “You have lost an arm in the great cause.” The soldier replied, “I didn't lose it; I gave it.” This morning, we want to consider a subject that makes many of us nervous and reluctant: sacrifice. We want to consider the thought of how much we are willing to give up or how far in we will go when it comes to sacrifice.
There is the meaning of sacrifice.
Sacrifice refers to when I am willing to offer up or give up something at personal expense to me. It implies that I will not get back what I am giving up. It has the implication that whatever is given up on my part will result in a personal loss. Sacrifice is voluntary in nature. Once the decision to make a sacrifice is made, there is no turning back.
There is the motivation for sacrifice.
Sacrifice is driven by the motivation that someone else will benefit from my deed or expense. It results in someone else being spared. In David’s case, his sacrifice to buy Araunah’s threshingfloor was to turn away the judgment of God that was against Israel. He said, “Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.” He was saying that he could not think of doing anything less than what he needed to do except at great personal expense to himself.
There is the model in sacrifice.
David is a model of someone who volunteered at great personal expense to do something that would help his people. The Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest model of sacrifice. He gave His life as the sufficient payment for the sins of mankind. He satisfied God’s righteous demands for sin by giving His life for us. He satisfied the sin debt through His sacrificial death on the cross.
There is the memory in sacrifice.
We should not forget the sacrifice of Jesus' death on the cross. We remember Jesus' death every time we take the Lord’s Supper at church. We remember His death and shed blood. We keep fresh in our minds the great sacrifice that Jesus made for our sin debt. We should likewise never forget the sacrifice that people have made for us. Think of the sacrifice your parents made to raise you and pay for your education. Think of the sacrifice of someone’s time when they make a meal for you or prepare a Sunday School lesson. Sacrifices mean someone gave up something for me and I should not take this lightly.
There is the ministry of sacrifice.
We should never allow a spirit of stinginess or selfishness come into our hearts and rob us from having a sacrificial spirit. We should be thinking about making an offering more substantial than whatever we gave before so that a special project can be accomplished. We should consider giving up more time to help advance the gospel message for the benefit of seeing people saved.
Are you someone who is sacrificial? Would you take on the mind of Christ and be willing to give that up for someone else?
Have a sacrificial God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Lamentations 1-2