“But [King David] replied to Araunah, ‘No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.’” 2 Samuel 24:24
True sacrifice. What is it? The above verse, one that I only recently discovered, is one that most often sticks out to me in Scripture when I think of sacrifice. In the context of chapter 24, King David, the man after God’s own heart, goes to Araunah to buy his threshing floor to build an altar to God. However, Araunah offers King David whatever he wants for free. This is when David states the above quote.
How often do we really sacrifice something to God? Many times I think that I’m sacrificing something for Him, or for time with Him, when in reality, it costs me nothing to do it. I think it’s important for us to remember that true sacrifice costs us. When the Israelites sacrificed in the Old Testament, they did so of the best of their flocks. One of the greatest tests of sacrifice was when Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his only son. “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love…. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about’” (Gen. 22:2). Now that is a cost to think about! And, of course, God Himself made the greatest sacrifice so that we might be redeemed to Him. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
I challenge you to think about the cost of spending time with Him and serving and obeying Him. Although I hope we ultimately enjoy serving and obeying Him, He never told us it would be easy. On the contrary, He said that we would often be persecuted and hated for it “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matt. 24:9). Let us all pray that God will work in our hearts to desire to give Him the best we have to offer, whatever the cost.
By Lisa Grimenstein
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