Many have been asking why they need to sacrifice again and again. well, I would like to take you back in time
in order for you to understand the concept of God with regards to sacrifice.
“And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord
because of the Midianites, 8 that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of
Israel, who said to them, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'I brought
you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage; 9 and I
delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who
oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 Also I
said to you, "I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land you dwell." But you have not obeyed My
voice.'" Judges 6:7-10 (NKJV)
Since the sin of Adam and Eve, God has been struggling to
get man to OBEY Him. He sent prophets, He sent His Angels, He even came down
Himself on Mount Sinai to talk to Man but still man was still rebellious. Not
forgetting to mention that He had to wipe out His whole creation and build it
through Noah with the hope that he will have a righteous and obedient nation BUT
even that did not work out. God found himself in a cycle of blessing his nation
and thereafter they forget Him to serve other gods and then cry out to Him when
they were in bondage; and the cycle goes on.
How could God make Man obey Him? God instituted the way
of SACRIFICE because that would connect
the innermost part of Man with God. It would reveal his sincerity, his love,
his trust and total dependence on Him. In order to avoid the cycle from
repeating itself the sacrifice would demand the whole life of the giver thus CONNECTING
HIM WITH GOD IN A COVENANT and also giving him (Man) the life in
abundance that God promised. Thus the sacrifice guaranteed God’s presence in Man's life as it also guaranteed Man's presence in God’s life! An Exchange!
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses
his own soul?” Mark 8:36-37
To sum the verse above: There is no point for Me to give you
everything you desire if I am going to lose your very soul. I would rather have
your soul first, know that at the end of your faith you will be with Me than
give you all the riches and not have you with me. SACRIFICE is Life with God! It's Eternal life with Him!
"Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For
whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
My sake and the gospel's will save it.” Mark 8:34-35 (NKJV)
Now you understand????
