“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
After sinning against God, and being punished for his sin, King David decided to build an altar to the Lord. The threshing floor that he chose
belonged to a man named Araunah, who was ready and willing to offer it at no
cost. But King David refused to accept the threshing floor or the oxen at no cost.
He would not give to God offerings that cost him nothing.
David's response reminds me of how I felt sometimes during high school sports games. Even if I was hurt or injured, I would want to play in the game. I wanted to play a role in the win, I wanted to do my part for the win, I wanted to pay my cost. The win would simply not feel right, unless I had done my part. I didn't want to win from the side lines. I wanted to win from the field. I believe that is how King David felt. He could've offered to God at no cost, but he knew of the pleasure of paying the cost.
Because of the way it be like sometimes, I’m sure we would
all enjoy free things; free food, free textbooks, (college students, where
ya’ll at!), free music, free concert tickets, just name it. We like it when
the benefits outweigh the costs. And most times, we REALLY like it when there are benefits with
no cost at all. King David could have accepted Araunah’s gifts and given God an
offering at no cost to himself. Yet, he refused. Why was he so eager to pay a cost?
What pleasure did he get from losing funds? Think about it. Would you have
accepted the gifts for free?
My senior year in high school. My football coach constantly reminded the team that the championship was ours. We just needed to take it. Taking it came with great cost; blood, sweat, tears, mild concussions, hand contusions, twisted ankles, muscle cramps, time, and energy. That's what it would take to win the championship that was ours. In the same way, salvation is ours but we must receive it. And receiving this gift of salvation comes with costs.
It requires surrender, it requires letting go of things that we put before God, it requires waging war against sins that provide
counterfeit comfort and pleasure, it requires taking steps of faith in which
our only lifeline is God Himself, it requires us to believe that God so loved
the world that He gave His only Son so that we might have everlasting life, it requires us to leave our comfort zone when God leads us to unfamiliar territory. These
costs even have some costs: you might lose some friends and family, you might
experience moments of feeling all alone, you might be ridiculed and laughed at,
you might even lose your life for your faith. NEVERTHELESS, God will provide all the aid needed to keep moving forward.
“He giveth more grace
as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more
strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions,
He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials,
He multiplies peace.
When we have exhausted
our store of endurance,
When our strength has
failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end
of our hoarded resources, ‘
Our Father’s full
giving is only begun.
Fear not that thy need
shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns
His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm
everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and
thy load will upbear.
His love has no
limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary
known unto men;
For out of His
infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth,
and giveth again.” - Annie J. Flint
The Skeptic: "Cool, God giveth more grace and all that good stuff, but how do I know that following Him is really worth it? What if I die and I just see blank? What if hell and heaven were all just stories? What if I dedicate my life and listen to all God's rules and follow Him, just to find that He is not even real? Now that I think about it, I don't know if this gamble is such a good idea. I mean David, what if you're wrong about God."
David: "If I'm wrong about God then I wasted my life. If you're wrong about God then you wasted your eternity. Do you still think its a bad gamble? Yes, it costs to follow Jesus, but it costs more not to. Your call. We won that championship my senior year in high school and the victory tasted sooo good. That was just high school football. Imagine what that Wedding Banquet is going to be like when Christ returns for His church. I truly hope and pray that we both meet there again, not as faraway spectators, not simply as invitees (which we all are), but as partakers of the great feast.
"On the day when I act," says the LORD Almighty, "they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him." Malachi 3:17
Peace and Love,
David
I do agree with the quote of Billy Graham
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