Jan 24, 20192 min
Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.
No Sacrifice Too Great
Japanese folklore tells of a rice farmer whose land overlooked the village where his friends lived. While working in his rice paddies one day, he felt a quake and saw the distant ocean swiftly withdraw from the shoreline. He knew there would soon be a devastating tidal wave. In the valley below, he saw his neighbors working fields that soon would be flooded. They would have to run to his hilltop or die. His rice barns were dry as tinder. To get the people quickly to higher ground, the farmer set fire to his barns and then rang the fire gong. His neighbors saw the smoke and rushed up the hill to help him. When they looked back from their place of safety, they saw the tidal wave wash over the fields they had just left. Instantly they understood. The farmer had made a great sacrifice that they might be saved.
Solomon and the people of Israel were equally generous in their sacrifices. They were so enthused about the new temple and the blessings that God was giving them that no sacrifice was withheld. They brought so many sheep and oxen for offerings that they couldn't be counted. They loved God so much that no sacrifice was too great.
Jesus felt the same way about you and me. Being crucified was a terrible way to die; to be separated from His Father was even worse (Matt. 27:46). Yet He loved us so much that no sacrifice was too great. The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus endured the cross for "the joy that was set before Him" (12:2). Our salvation made it all worthwhile.
Knowing how Jesus Christ feels about you, how does that make you feel about Him? Since no sacrifice was too great for Him to make for you, what should your response be? Is there any sacrifice too great to make for Him? Jesus gave His all. What do you have that you need to give to Him today?
Jesus' all demands our all.