I had woken up in a terrible mood. I felt a burning anger, at nothing, at everything . . . for no reason at all. Now that I think of it, I might have been temporarily demented. As I stomped into the kitchen my eyes caught sight of the tall pile of dishes waiting to be washed. They offended me. They were an affront to my very existence. Angered, I snatched up my gloves and started furiously scrubbing the dishes.
Mike was making apple crisp. He approached me, saying, “My crisp isn’t crispy. What should I do?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” I hardly even gave it a glance. I grabbed up another dish and scratched the sponge over it. Taken aback, Mike turned away and finished his apple crisp alone. A little farther into my dish-washing rampage, I heard the coffee maker going.
“Do you want milk or sugar?” asked Mike.
“I don’t care,” I snarled, and threw a dish into the dish rack. The pile of dishes dwindled to just a few dishes that needed soaking. I ran hot water over them and left them to soak. Wordlessly, Mike gave me a cup of steaming coffee. I tasted it. Coffee, milk, no sugar-- exactly the way I like it. I still felt inexplicably angry, so I retreated to the living room to read my Bible. Now, for the sake of honesty, I must confess that I tend to use my Bible as a fire extinguisher. I use it as a solution to emergencies, rather than using it every day before problems arise.
A phrase repeated itself several times in my reading that day. “It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to God.”
I felt ashamed, then. I’m supposed to be a living sacrifice for God, but I’m burning myself up before I even get to the altar.
“It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to God.”
The Old Testament sacrifices were fulfilled in Christ’s sacrifice at the cross. They now serve as a gruesome reminder of the terrible consequences of our sin, and awful price of our salvation. To deny the sacrifice of Christ is a grave mistake. And to not appreciate the sacrifice of Christ, to live as if I did not deserve His suffering instead . . . that is a grave mistake as well.
A burnt offering was offered whole, the entirety of the animal consumed by the flames. A living sacrifice is made whole, not in order to be consumed in flames, but in order that its life may be consumed wholly by a desire to serve God. I hope to be a pleasing aroma to God and to those around me. Forgive me, Lord, when I am not.
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