It's not always easy to see the significance of what we read in the Bible. As I've said before, one of the most important questions you can ask as you read the Bible is 'so what?' If it's not going to make any difference to the way I live my life, then what's the point?
As we continue our Sunday morning series on the book of Leviticus this question remains very much at the front of my mind. These passages are, on first glance, so out of date and from a totally different age, what can they possible have to say to us today?
This week we were looking at Leviticus 1-7 which deals with the rules and regulations of what and how to offer sacrifices that are acceptable to God. Should you offer a goat, sheep, bird or cow? Should it be male or female? Do you burn the whole thing or offer some and eat the rest? What do you do with the blood? Pour it out, sprinkle it around, wipe it on the horns of the altar, take it inside the tabernacle?
None of the above is going to make you very popular when you go to church on Sunday. In fact it is unlikely that your animal of choice will make it through the front door. But even if you do get your pet goat to the front of the church it is unlikely that any minister or vicar is going to slaughter the thing in front of the children in the pews - the blood would almost certainly ruin the carpet - and no one wants a visit from the fabric committee. So what is the point?
In the New Testament we read that these things were only ever a shadow of the real thing. When Jesus died on the cross that sacrifice dealt with the problem of sin once and for all. Everything that we then seek to do is our response to God's love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. In the words of Romans 12:1 we present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice - no longer looking to do what we want, but looking to be obedient to God.
I'll have some more thoughts on our offerings later in the week.
