David's idea of a sacrifice

Day 120

OT Reading: 2 Samuel 23-24

NT Reading: Luke 22:31-53

To David, sacrifices were serious business. David saw sacrifices served as acts of worship to God. David believed that sacrifices should be made out of love, not compulsion...devotion, not obligation...honor, not duty. And in today's reading we learned one more way David viewed sacrifices. He believed they should be just that...a sacrifice.

At the very end of 2nd Samuel David is freely offered oxen so that he may offer a sacrifice to God. And to any well-meaning, penny-pinching individual this would definitely be viewed as a welcome gift. But David saw it a bit differently. Instead of accepting, he politely refused simply saying, "I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." David believed that a sacrifice should cost you something.

What about you? When* you give to the church, a missionary or a ministry...does it hurt just a bit? Do you feel as though this gift back to God is truly a "sacrifice?" Or like those in last Friday's reading...are you just giving out of your wealth?

I may or may not be your minister so this isn't some veiled attempt to raise money for our building fund. But let me ask you a serious question. Are your gifts to God really costing you something? Because that was David's idea of what a "sacrifice" truly was.

*I say "when" because I hope that by day 120 of our reading of the Bible, you have come to recognize that God wants his followers to offer Him control of their entire lives, including their finances. Is it easy? No. Is it popular? Definitely not. Is it Biblical? Absolutely. If you're a follower of Jesus, and not investing in Kingdom work, you need to be.