The Western winter holidays are saturated with gift-giving but are also known for the rabid return rate of unwanted items. It’s estimated almost 20% of all holiday purchases will be returned. When an aunt gifts an unfortunate sweater or children wrap another tie or robe, a desire for utility prompts us to send the gifts back for credit toward something we want more. An endearing intention is met with a selfish, if practical, response.
Part of the reason we return so much stems from our cultural obligations to give; givers make rash or uninspired purchases to check some dutiful box. However, another reason we return is due to a lack of empathy. If a gift doesn’t immediately offer value, we care less about the giver’s intention than our utility. We more easily assign value to what we purchase ourselves. When we make the financial sacrifice, we hold the item more dearly than if it were gifted to us. Facebook Marketplace is rife with haggling between buyers and sellers as the value of an item is debated. Hoarders overestimate the value of their decaying junk and attempt to justify holding out for the buyer who sees the “true value.”
This is how the sacrificial system instituted by Old Testament Law was intended to work. By assigning a value of “loss” from sin, mankind was supposed to learn to cherish righteousness. If I lose what I own because of my sin, I now have an earthly incentive to pursue holiness. Now that I have something at stake, the penalty of sin feels heavier to my mind, as well as my spirit. When sin requires a dove, a bull, a ram–my livelihood–I am supposed to feel the weight of that loss and value God’s rules above my own.
The earliest example of sin’s cost was paid by God. God killed his creation to cover our naked depravity with animal skins (Genesis 3:21). He lost his communion with us with flames maintaining an insurmountable barrier (Genesis 3:24). Therefore, anything going back to God had to pass through flames to get there and we see that in examples like Noah’s interceding for mankind after the flood (Genesis 8:20), the burnt offerings of Jobs' ignorant friends (Job 42:8), and David’s regret over his census (2 Samuel 24). There was no way to retrieve it from the ashes–the offering was completely lost to those to gave it.
Loss is the weight behind repentance. We can choose to indulge in our flesh’s desires, but repentance requires us to decide to leave it behind. We must offer something of importance back to God to affirm His value to us. David reveals a similar conviction after turning down a free gift of a man’s threshing floor and cattle to satisfy God’s wrath. David replies, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24, NIV) David understands God is looking for our motives more than our offerings. Loss was meant to inspire our regret and pursuit of holiness. However, sin is baked into our very existence, and therefore, we should expect a continual spiritual battle against it.
Over time, Man gave up on that battle. We see generations relapse from faith and righteousness throughout Judges and the books of Kings and Chronicles. Proverbs is littered with the effects of sinful men. Scores of animals were sacrificed across time as Man no longer valued their material loss more than the desires of their depraved hearts. Though the Babylonian exile inspired a new zeal for faith, it became a structure of human condemnation and judgment through the religious oppression by the Sadducees and Pharisees; they cared more about the prescription of sacrifices than the intention behind them.
Thus, man’s sacrifices lost their meaning. The losses did not inspire any more faith, only procedure. Man’s heart was still far from God–the antithesis of God’s desire (Hosea 6:6). So, God removed the necessity of our ineffective sacrifices; however, our sins still beget death. If man couldn’t conquer sin, then God had to conquer the death that came with it. Thus, Jesus’ death on the cross was a true sacrifice of eternal significance to finally fulfill the law. Our salvation now no longer costs us resources; it is a gift for us to accept.
Yet, I wonder if this free gift is now received like our unwanted holiday presents. 21st-century Westerners have little pragmatic or material need for Christ, as far as they can tell. Our country, built on the blessings of the faithful who escaped persecution, is cashing in on our forefathers’ sacrifices. God has kept His covenant with them to our benefit. Are we not just another generation who have forgotten where our help comes from, like those in Judges or Chronicles?
Jesus’ sacrifice now demands our faith, not our religious rites. God’s desire has always been for our hearts and lives to be offered to Him. Having taken the sacrificial system out of our hands, God leaves us with the central question:
do we believe or not?
Any requirement of our precious wealth and possessions–that we enslave ourselves to acquire–is not enough to turn our hearts toward him, so He made a simpler way to get to the root of the matter.
God’s free gift is offered to you. Though it may appear impractical in our lush society, the intention is far more meaningful than you realize. The choice is yours whether to accept it or to exchange it for an indulgent lifestyle–just remember, if you reject His gift of salvation, He will return you to the wrath you so willingly chose.
