My mind cannot help but think how difficult Abel’s sacrifice must have been. In Genesis 4: 2 – 4: we read that Abel was a keeper of flocks, and that He brought offerings to the Lord of the first-lings of one of his flocks. It is the first offering we hear about in Scripture, and I can only imagine the heart wrenching experience of having to choose a lamb, from among the many, for slaughter. No matter how much Cain labored with the sweat of his brow over the tilling of his garden, the cost cannot even begin to be compared with that of Abel’s. An offering to the Lord often demands sacrifice, because it demonstrates one’s willingness to surrender in its very presentation. The offerings in the Old Testament had to be without defect of any kind.
Now that Jesus gave Himself as the ultimate Sacrifice for all times, with unimaginable suffering in the process, I am somewhat challenged to look at the things which I offer to Him. Is there a cost involved in what I do? Does my life reflect one which is consistent with the requirements of someone who confesses to follow Jesus?
In 1 Corinthians 15: 31: we read Paul saying, “I die daily,” and in Galatians 2: 20: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and delivered Himself up for me. 2 Corinthians 5: 15: wraps it up for any of us who may have wondered what the Christian life entailed; it reads, “And He (Jesus) died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
Dearest Holy Lord Jesus: thank You for allowing Yourself to become our substitute, as You offered Yourself as the Pure and un-defiled Lamb of God. Thank You that because You did, we who repent of our own ways, accept and seek refuge in You, are justified by Your shed Blood and saved from the wrath to come. Romans 5: 9. Bring Hope to any who need to receive the assurance of Salvation, and who need to submit their lives to live unto You. May Your Holy Spirit cause Divine transformation to take place in our heart today, in the Holy Name of Jesus, I pray. Glory to You alone!
