Sacrificial Offerings

2 Sam 24:19-25 tells of the time when King David needed to build an alter to make a sacrifice to the Lord so He would stop a plague. Araunah offered to give David the building materials. David refused with this stunning reply, "I will not offer to my God that which cost me nothing."

I am reminded of the story a Ugandan Bishop related about his congregation being overwhelmed by the generosity of a sister church in America when they sent box-loads of supplies after a natural disaster in Uganda. But later when the Bishop visited the American church he noticed that everyone still had blankets and many clothes. He ended this story by saying, "Though we still appreciated the items, we recognized the donations where not provided in the spirit we had expected. For the providers did not give. They got rid of."

There is a time to 'get rid of' and share from my excess.  But I must not be deceived into thinking that that is an offering to God.

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