For Thought and Meditation

[Markopolo]

Abraham built an altar…; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar… —Genesis 22:9
This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— “Lord, I am ready to go with You…to death” (Luke 22:33). But— “I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God.”
We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a “living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.

[Pine Baron]

Excellent message. Thanks Marko. Amen.

[smoked turkey]

Yes, this is a very insightful message. Thank you Marko for sharing this great thought today.

[USMC87]

A great message, Amen!

[Thundarstick]

You brought up sacrifice and that brought up the current reading of Matthew where these words had popped out at me.

Hos 6:6
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Mat 9:11-13
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mat 12:2-7
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.

Jesus tells his apostles, "go and learn what this means". If you hit the nail on the head of this meaning, (we need to sacrifice anything keeping us from Jesus) why do our preachers constantly harp on Christians needing to sacrifice sacrifice sacrifice? It seems most preachers would have you give up everything in your life and live destitute?? Does mercy go hand and hand with sacrifice?

It's for thought and meditation, and these are some of my thoughts.