Heart Tracks - The True Sacrifice

     A missionary to South Asia tells of something she and her family witnessed in the Muslim community in which they were ministering.  It was the festival known to Muslims as Eid Al-Adha, which commemorates Abraham's sacrificing of an animal instead of his son, who they believe was Ishmael.  Every household buys either a cow or goat for the ceremony, and the missionary's landlord purchased two cows for his household.  He needed two because they believed that one sacrificed animal only covered the bad deeds of 7 people.  He had 10 children, thus the need for two cows.

   The next morning after the purchase, the men of the household gathered to sacrifice the cows, which was done by the Imam, their pastor, so to speak.  As he slit the throats of the cows, he held in his hand, the names of the family members he was performing the ceremony for.  She said it was a very chilling moment as she could hear the moans of the cows as they were being sacrificed.  Afterwards, the son of the landlord walked by, covered in blood, smiling, saying "It is finished."  A cold chill went up her spine, along with a deep sorrow, for these people; the ceremony was only finished for a moment.  It would have to be repeated again and again for the rest of their lives, and one sacrifice would never be enough.  They would always require another.  They did not know, and did not see the One, Jesus, who had already been the true sacrifice for their "bad deeds," their sin.  For them, it was never finished.
   We, who take the name of Christ, may grieve for these souls trapped in darkness, and rightly so, but would we dare to consider that so many of us, who take the name of Christ, who have believed that He truly is the sacrifice for all of our bad deeds, all of our sins, live out our day to day lives in much the same manner as these missionaries Muslim neighbors?  That we, in our own way, feel compelled, day by day, to make some sort of "sacrifice" to Him in order to be accepted, to be forgiven, to be loved.  Always, these sacrifices never seem to be enough, and always, the sacrifices never seem to be finished.  We live under a cloud of guilt.  We fall into the trap of the Galatians, who though saved by grace, fell into a religion of works in order to stay in good standing with God.  They didn't live a life of sacrifice fueled by grace, but made sacrifices to Him in order that they might receive it.  Though they had the favor of God, they lived as though they must earn it.
   I'm not speaking of a "cheap grace" here.  The blood of Christ is precious beyond words, and we grieve His heart by lifestyles that cheapen that blood and the grace it has released to us.  Yet neither can we live as if that blood, that grace, somehow has limitations.  Like the Muslim who needed more than one cow to satisfy the sins of his family, we feel we need more than His grace poured out once for all upon the cross and in His resurrection.  Though we are His children, we live as orphans, always feeling unworthy of coming to His table, and always feeling we must "do" something in order to have a place there at all.  In many ways, we live as "lost" as do the unbelievers we seek to reach for Him.
   Hebrews 9:26 reads, "Now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."  Once....by the sacrifice of Himself.  This sacrifice of Himself has opened up the doors of the Kingdom and the windows of heaven to His people.  His sacrifice has brought all those who are His into the throneroom of His Presence.  We can come not by our work, but by His.  We're held in the grip of His grace.  Whenever we feel that grace and favor have to earned, made sacrifice for, we are held instead in the grip of death and darkness.  It is never finished.  There is always something more to be done, more to be proved.  May our hearts truly receive His words, "It is finished," and live in the bounty and abundance that they bring to us.  It is finished, and in Him, our lives may now begin.

Blessings,

Pastor O