S188P5 – Acts of worship: sacrificial gifts

Gen. 22:4-6

On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.  Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son.  And he took in his hand the fire and the knife.  So they went both of them together.

Tithes, gifts and offerings are all about sacrifice.  Old Testament scriptures speak of several different kinds of offerings that serve different purposes.  Sometimes the correct sacrifice involved grain while other times it required offering an animal of the highest quality.  We likely will relate more to the act of giving money by way of a tithe.  All of these sacrifices require our relinquishing something of value, perhaps even something we need, for the sake of glorifying God.  When Abraham was asked to give up his only son, a request that seemed to fly in the face of God’s promise to him, he called it worship.  Although the Lord ultimately would not require that life, it gives us a picture of the seriousness of worshiping God through sacrifice.

Walking with God will require great sacrifices of worship.  This is not merely a possibility but something that is certain.  Sometimes we must remove ourselves from relationships.  Sometimes God asks us to lay down a profession or position of prestige.  Whatever the case may be, it is not a sacrifice of worship unless it really means something to us.  It becomes a question of what we really value as the highest priority in our lives.  We must ask ourselves whether we would rather continue to hold on to the things we treasure most or whether God is worth having to relinquish those things.  If He calls us to let go of our tiny treasures, the hope is that we have the heart to do so because God is worth the worship.

This is an issue of willingness.  God might never call you to end a personal relationship you value.  He might never call you to lay down your work or your biggest dreams to follow him.  He still wants us to be willing to do so if He asks.  When we obey and lay these things down at his request, we show him not only that He is worth the worship but also that we trust He knows best.  He is what and who we truly need.  We can afford to let go of everything else for his sake if that is required because we already have everything in him.  The sacrifice is our worship for the complete fulfillment He offers.  Father, thank You for the opportunity to worship You by laying down our most precious treasures to show that your glory is worth infinitely more.