SACRIFICE

Psalms 116:17
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
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In the old testament, sacrifice honored God by offering him creatures precious to man that are either bloody and unbloody. Among the bloody sacrifices, the holocaust, or whole-burnt offering, was the most perfect sacrifice where the animal was completely consumed by fire and offered twice each day, in the morning and evening. The sacrifice could either be sin offering, guilt offering or peace offering was in gratitude, in fulfillment of a vow, or simply voluntary.

However, in the new testament, salvation and forgiveness has already come in Jesus Christ. In effect, we do not need sacrifices for our own sake anymore, just to please God. God is a God of mercy. Because God is a merciful God, he expects his children to be merciful. We now have to share in the very work of God – by showing mercy to others as God has shown mercy to us! This is how God makes our lives special and that by showing mercy, we lead others to the love of God in Jesus Christ that they might receive Him as their Lord and Savior.

God wants people to enter our lives who we think will not deserve our love in order to give us the blessed painful opportunity of practicing mercy. Our mercy to people merits the grace we need to be forgiven and, what is most important, merits grace for the ones towards whom we are practicing mercy.

Turn to the living God for He will have mercy, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. It is not about living a perfect life of sacrifice anymore, but about people coming together and learning to love and accept each other, by loving God more than we would have; showing mercy towards others by loving those who do not deserve to be loved.

Lord Jesus Christ, you are our merciful God become Man to redeem us from our sins. Open our eyes to the debt of love that we owe You for Your unspeakable merciful love for us. Open our hearts to give ourselves to You through those whom You place into our lives, so that by our mercy toward them we may win mercy from You and cooperate with You in the redemption of a sinful world. Amen +

I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds.