Forgotten Sacrifices?

Forgotten Sacrifices? Author: Esther Agbi

Heb. 11:4b “God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaks.”

I was reading about Abel’s sacrifice when this title of my write up came up in my mind. I pondered over it for a little while before I finally accepted to put it down in writing. This is a topic people don’t usually like to talk about because whenever it is brought up, everybody gets jittery, saying there must be a great need in the body of Christ that needs to be addressed in other for them to give what is substantial to God. This is not always the case. I believe it is an opportunity to be blessed by God.

Sacrifice, according to Webster’s dictionary means “An act of offering something special to a deity”. Offering, on the other hand means a “sacrifice ceremonially offered as part of a worship. It sounds interesting to me. For the purpose of this article, I will use both words interchangeably.

Deity here refers to God, the creator of the universe. The offering has to be given willingly for it to be a sacrifice, and special too [2 Cor. 8:12]. I believe so many people gave sacrifices to God in the Bible but a few to my knowledge were outstanding. Abel offered not just a great sacrifice, but an excellent one. The best he could ever offer. It did not end there. God had to talk about Abel’s gift. When Abel was dead, his gifts spoke to God. How amazing! I don’t know if I have ever given a gift or offering to God, that the creator of the vast universe is still deliberating on, or has become an item on the agenda of the meeting of the Godhead. That is yet to be revealed. What about yours?

Abraham was ready to offer his only promised child Isaac, whom he loves to God.
How precious was that sacrifice in the eyes of God? In the real sense, he had already sacrificed Isaac in his mind. He had gone past the stage of contemplating, should I do or should I not do it? How do I know this? Heb.11:19. Abraham believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead if he was sacrificed. Abraham did not only believe in God, God believed in Abraham, for HE said in [Gen 22:12b], “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” God is not asking us to make human sacrifices. Jesus has made the ultimate sacrifice. It is a good thing to believe in God, it is greater when God believes in you. This shows dependability. I am still a “work” in progress. I don’t know about you.
………….. To be continued.