Most of us as Asians understand sacrifice. Whether it’s leaving home to come to Cambridge or burning joss-sticks during Ching Ming Festival, we understand what it means to make a sacrifice. From childhood, our parents drill that one important lesson into our heads: Nothing costs nothing. And so, we willingly sacrifice our todays - our money, our time, even our health and our happiness - so we can secure a better tomorrow. It’s an investment, an ethos in life that says: Don’t get comfortable. Sacrifice today for a better tomorrow.
If that’s true, then here in Leviticus Chapter 3 we see a sacrifice that does not make sense. It still costs us everything - that part we get - but God promises nothing in return for our sacrifice. Absolutely nothing.
And that’s important for two reasons. Number one, this is not a business transaction. God does not owe us blessing in return for our sacrifice. And number two, this is the basis of our giving as Christians today - not as a payment, not as a bribe - but offered up simply to please God; offered up simply to make him happy.
