1 Chronicles 21

1Ch 21:24 Then King David said to Ornan, "No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing."

David messed up. Like we discussed in youth group last night, David put his eyes on the things of the world and he immediately became afraid of what he might lose. He decided to count out Israel to see just how strong he really was. His reliance was on the things of this world and so God punished David.

Fast forward a couple days and we have Jerusalem being destroyed. There was no army attacking. There was no rebellion like last time. Instead the angel of the Lord stood between heaven and earth, over Jerusalem, with sword in hand. David is commanded to build an altar. David goes out to build one.

He picks a location owned by a man named Ornan. Ornan offers David his field and David responds saying, “I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offering with that which costs me nothing.”

Have you ever made an offering to the Lord? Offerings are exactly what it sounds like. It is to offer, something that belongs to you, to the Lord. Offerings involve sacrifice. We live in a culture where we are very busy. It is very easy to give Jesus our free time, or whatever is left of it. Could you honestly say that you are giving Jesus an offering, which is costing you something?

I know I use to try to plan to read my Bible as part of my school day. Sometimes when I am at work, since I work on a computer all day, when the processor is running and I cannot do anything else, I think, “I should sneak in a devo so I don’t have to do one later.” Oh Hector… This is a tremendous reminder for me, that if it did not cost me anything, I would not be serving or loving any of you.

Gang, give to Jesus that which costs you. Give Him everything. Do not try to cut corners with your relationship with him. Like any other type of relationship, if one person is doing all the sacrificing, than the other person becomes saddened. God wants to spend time with you, not free time, not extra time, but your time. It is going to cost you something, but I guarantee, it will be worth it.