Blood

I'm starting to get a glimpse of how the Jews might feel about the Old Testament sacrificial system.


Burdened. Overwhelmed. Hopeless. Lost.


My Bible reading plan for 2011 involves reading through the whole Bible.  Part of that includes the book of Leviticus - which I've been avoiding (most likely subconsciously) due to its content.  I mean, who wants to read rules we don't even follow anymore?  Right?


I have to be honest, though, reading through the book of Leviticus so far has been a very eye-opening experience.  I think I came across the whole point of Leviticus in today's reading.  Chapter 11, verse 45.  "You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."


My thoughts are all jumbled when it comes to the subject of Leviticus because I'm still new to the concept of ritual sacrifice.  I'm still processing all that Leviticus means to me and how it affects my faith and my relationship with God.  In words, the idea that keeps coming to mind and weighing on my heart is "burden."  I mean, I read through the first 7 chapters and literally got up from each reading feeling heavy.  I felt weighed down and burdened by the amount of blood that had to be shed just for the atonement of the priest, not to mention all the Jews who also had to sacrifice for their sins.  I started to think about my own life, my own sins, and what I would have to sacrifice were I living during that time.  How much blood would I have to offer for myself and my family?  It's too much!  How can anyone live under that burden?  How can anyone exist knowing that what you offer will never be enough, will never satisfy the burden of sin that is on your life and can never be fully atoned for?  It's just too much!


"You shall be holy therefore, for I am holy."


And yet God's standard is the same.  For all of us.  Be holy.


You might recognize Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"


It's a verse that makes it clear - none of us has met the standard God has set for us.  None of us are perfect.


Maybe less recognized, but all the more important, are verses 24 and 25:

"and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood..."

If there is one thing I come away from reading Leviticus with, it's an even greater appreciation for my salvation.  Christ, a perfectly sinless man, died a cruel death on a Roman cross, so that through the shedding of His blood, we who are sinners - who have no hope and would otherwise be "dead in our trespasses" - can be justified and redeemed.  In light of that, how can we do anything but praise Jesus for His sacrifice and tell others about this incredible gift we've received?


"O, praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!"

Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed - "to overcome completely in mind or feeling"
Burdened - "that which is borne with difficulty"


I feel overwhelmed and burdened lately.  It has been steadily growing in my heart.  It literally has been weighing on me, so much so that my countenance has been affected.


There's a problem with this world that I've recently had my eyes opened to.  I had heard of it but it had not really been on my list of priorities.  I had not been that concerned about it but it is urgent nonetheless.


Poverty.
Hunger.
Disease.
Death.


These things are running rampant across our planet.  In countries all over the world, millions and millions of people are dying because they are malnourished or because of preventable disease.  Millions of people don't have access to clean drinking water or a steady food supply.  Orphans are heading households full of other orphans because all of their parents have died with HIV/AIDS.


I won't get into the actual data, but just believe me - the situation in places around the world is so terrible that it's unbelievable, unfathomable, inexpressible.  Google it.  It will blow your mind at how staggering the problem is.


This burden I feel that the Lord has laid on my heart has two parts:


First, how many of these people could we feed?  Or clothe?  Or provide medicine for?  It seems like we're so caught up in the materialism of this world that we have forgotten the "least of these."  It seems like we're so wrapped up in being entertained by sports or music or movies or books that we've turned a blind eye to the real issues that are worth caring about.

"And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'" Matthew 25:40

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:  to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."  James 1:27

Are we (the Church) taking care of widows and orphans?  Are we providing for the "least of these"?  Are we "unstained from the world"?


Second (but most certainly foremost), how many of these people who are dying every day know the saving power of Jesus Christ?  How many of them have even heard the Gospel because we loved them enough to take it to them?

"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?'  Then I said, 'Here am I!  Send me.'"  Isaiah 6:8

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."  Matthew 28:19-20

We are all called to take the Gospel to the nations.  We must.  The situation is too desperate to not go.  The command of our Lord Jesus Christ is just that - a command.  There is no option.  In the words of David Platt, "We are the plan of God, and there is no plan B."


How many people will die without Christ while we (myself included) continue to live in disobedience to His command?