The Sanctity of Sacrifice

There is a special kind of freedom in the Lord when we realise that we do not have to bleed for our mistakes.

A bit of a theatrical way to start a blog post? Very possibly. But a true sentiment nonetheless, and one that I've relished in realising the last few months.

See, the thing that I've come to realise about myself, is that I have a tendency to think, that despite very clearly knowing the Lord forgives me when I sin and fall short of His perfection, that I am still unworthy of that sacrifice.

And I realised, that without even knowing it, Satan had held that over me for far longer than he ever had the right to. Allowing myself to be deceived by the enemy had left me in a place of shame that I didn't even know I was sitting in!

I just thought "I have sinned, that was a bad thing, I have done bad things, and even though the Lord tells me that I am redeemed and bought by His blood, I must STILL feel guilt over this thing and let this fear control me". But that is not the point of sacrifice at all!

In 1 Kings 18:28-29 it says:

"So they shouted louder, and following their normal customs, they cut themselves with knives and swords until blood gushed out. They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response."

In this passage, Elijah is facing down all the prophets of Bael and actually MOCKS them, because they are believing the lie that they must bleed out to earn the affection of their god. But this is not what Jesus did. Rather, He bled out for US! So that even when we sin, even when we fall short, we need not TRAMPLE the blood by clinging on to the belief that we are unworthy of forgiveness. We simply need to accept it and relish in that victory. Celebrate and rejoice that we serve the God who bleeds for US rather than asking us to endure more pain.

When Jesus died on the cross and poured out His blood for us, He said "it is DONE" and He meant it! Making it so that we can walk from a place of redemption PROUDLY because we are FREED from the burden of sin and shame.

I tend to deny the brokenness that is my flesh.

I'd love to be the person that has it all together, that has never messed up or sinned, that I haven't lied, or let my mind and eyes wander places they shouldn't, that I haven't been tempted or fallen short of the standard Christ calls us to.

But to deny that I have sinned and need saving, would also be to deny that Christ has redeemed and forgiven me.

To ignore the pieces of me that were broken and made beautiful, would be the same as ignoring the redemption of Christ that we find in the sacrifice He made on the cross - a sacrifice that made it possible for us to use our brokenness to now glorify and honor Him.

You don't have to let Satan deny you of the joy that is in your salvation - do not let the enemy be the thief that he is, who only comes to steal, kill, and destroy, when the God we serve is victorious in sacrifice and gracious in repentance.

I celebrate now the path that brought me to where I am today, because it's the same path that made me who I am, that made my relationship with the Lord what it is, that has given me the testimony I can now share with others to tell them too:

There is sanctity in the sacrifice Jesus made - and it was meant for you.

Here's to celebrating victory...

-Emma