I recall getting very angry one holiday when I had to go to the store the day after Christmas to exchange one of our children’s gifts. The toy we had purchased and wrapped, the gift that our child received, was broken inside its packaging. It was very disappointing to me and our child to have this long-awaited gift delayed even more because somehow the quality of the item was not where it should have been.
If we will give a gift to another we usually expect and hope that the gift will not only be acceptable, but be of excellent quality. In the Book of Leviticus God outlines exactly what type of offerings are acceptable and which ones are not. What are the specifications described for burnt offerings?
God has decreed that certain sacrifices should be made to Him. These sacrifices are signs of penance, or of commitment, or of gratitude. Commentaries describe the first such sacrifice – the burnt offering – as the oldest and most common offering made. In my mind it is also the most important.
These sacrifices are suggested by God, and are not mandatory. They are made on the decision of the one offering the sacrifice, made by choice and not by requirement. The person making the sacrifice was also to present the best of his animals, a perfect and unblemished creature, a flawless offering to God. It was not to have defects or problems.
The sacrificed animal then takes the place of the person making the sacrifice. The burnt offering suffers the punishment and destruction due to the person, and the one making the offering is cleansed of guilt through the perfect sacrifice.
Sound familiar? It should. Jesus Christ became the perfect offering to God, presented through his own decision, willingly destroyed on our behalf. And Jesus was a gift of the highest quality, flawless and without defect.
How do we react to such a sacrifice? First, we must accept it and embrace it. We must cherish such a sacrifice. And then we should strive to offer ourselves to God – flawless and without defect – in our faith and in our actions.
DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you become a perfect offering to God?
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