Sacrifice

I will not sacrifice to the Lord that which costs me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24) David refused to insult his God with an offering that did not infringe on his comfort. The widow’s mite was viewed as more valuable and more worthy to be acknowledged than the wealthy contributions of the elite. The rich young ruler went away sad when the price of inheriting eternal life required selling everything he had.

These stories haunt me not because scripture is implying wealth is sinful or that gifts should be distained – but because Jesus saw the heart of the matter: idolatry. Idols are not merely sculpted figures representing some demonic substitute for the one, true God. Idols are a matter of the heart – a devotion to something other than who God is.

In March, I walked down the beaches of Lake Nicaragua with a friend and had the discussion of what truly loving God meant. On one perspective, loving God and loving others are incredibly simplistic commands! We’ve complicated them into programs and committees when the devotion to God alone is all that is needed. However, from my perspective, in that brief moment I understood what had haunted me for so long: loving God was truly the hardest thing God has ever asked of me.

To love God with all my mind means that no thought, no daydream, no object, no idea, no logic – nothing distracts me from my one and only motivation of loving God with the entirety of my mind. To love God with my heart means that every emotion, every ounce of ego, every sense I perceive is directed wholly on who God is and desires to glorify Him. To love God with all my strength means every effort I make, every place I go, every action I initiate (or refrain from initiating) is ultimately to the glorification of God the Father. 

I’ve said recently that God doesn’t always want the things that are easy to give up. For example, I couldn’t care less about what car I drive. The only purpose for owning a vehicle is to get me from point A to point B, cosmetics, power, color – none of it matters to me at all. However, I love people. I desperately desire the closeness of friends and love ministry and service to others. In the last several months, God’s asked it of me. Am I willing to face loneliness? Am I willing to serve in obscurity or in the background? Am I willing to surrender that which is most important to me to follow Christ above all?

A hot topic of discussion between World Racers has been of Abraham and Isaac. In the Biblical narrative, Isaac not only represented a future for Abraham and Sarah, he was the promise of a legacy. He was the redemption of God’s people, he was, by all accounts and purposes, a good thing. 

It’s the most frustrating of all when God asks for the good things. Why would he ask me to relinquish a ministry I love? Why would he ask me to remain single when I so desire to get married? Why would he take me around the world and leave the comforts of home? All innately good things – yet ones God is requesting me to relinquish.

You see, David had it right. In 2 Samuel 24:24 David comments how he refuses to sacrifice something to the Lord that costs him nothing. It’s not the act of sacrifice that’s important, it is the statement, the accountability that nothing stands in the way of my devotion to Christ. God Himself says that he doesn’t delight in burnt offerings but a broken and contrite heart.

He wants me. He wants my devotion, my commitment.

We worry so much about protecting the things that are important to us. We surrender all until it hurts. We’ve stopped asking things of God because of what it might cost us. Brokenness is a noble prayer to pray until God answers it. Dependence on God, trust in Him – all good things, until He truly puts us in a position of desperation – then we react.

Abraham’s sacrifice was complete, it was a surrender even of the best he had. Isaac was even a promise from God – something especially given, an answer to prayer. Yet, God asked for it back. Abraham was obedient with no hope of redemption. He wasn’t entitled to a legacy, to a relationship with his son, to a gift from God, to a promise fulfilled. He didn’t deserve to have what he had been given, he didn’t deserve the miracle or the grace. He had no right to receive what he did, he had no merit that earned him what he was given. God didn’t ask for his camels or his offerings or his livelihood – he asked for that which was most important. The sacrifice itself wasn’t what was important, God wanted Abraham – and he got him.

If this is true discipleship: to deny ourselves and take up our cross to follow Christ. If we are to follow Christ’s example of making ourselves nothing. If we truly want to live a life devoted to Christ, it’s time to live open-handed. God’s not calling all of us to poverty – but if He did, would you give everything up? God’s not calling us to rags – but if He did, would you follow Him there? God’s not calling all of us to the slums of Cambodia or the Philippines, but if He did, would you go? God’s not calling all of us to singleness, but if He did, would you give the hope of marriage up? God’s not stripping us of all the blessings He’s given, not taking back the promises He’s made, but if He did, would you respond in anger or trust?

Obedience is not just for the adventurous at heart. Just because I gave up a year of my life to travel the world doesn’t make me more obedient or more faith-filled. Truthfully, my faith is tested more here, my dependence on the Lord is under greater scrutiny. God has asked more of me than He usually does at home. I’m called to love God with the entirety of my being. Am I ready?