What is sacrifice? Do I feel I can wander from God and then create some pompous protocol: waltz into church, sacrifice an hour of thoughtful indignation and then climb back into usualness? Psalm 51:15-17 seems to record an interesting perspective of the time. In a period of animal sacrifice, producing a blood covering of sin, David was found wanting for more.
"O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your
praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I
would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt
offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise."
David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. It seemed like the usual animal sacrifice had become a thing to do, not a heart to clean. He needed more for a life in turmoil. A few verses back David had asked God to create a pure heart...his joy was gone.
Why was David a "man after God's own heart"? He had done some pretty awful things. What set him apart? Maybe this was what God was looking for...a heart sacrifice. God wants more. If I think I have it all figured out and "this" is all I need to do, everything becomes black and white to me. If I sin, I go to church, or confession, or give an extra tithe, and feel this will cleanse my soul. If I get so focused with doing the "white", for "white's" sake, and not doing the "black", my legalism may turn my "white" to "black".
I must continue to allow God to infiltrate my life. It is the realization that my sacrifice does nothing but acknowledge that the sacrifice of Jesus has "paid it all." And it is "all to Him I owe."
