In his comments of the first two verses of the book he made this observation:
“Observe here, it is taken for granted that people would be inclined to bring offerings to the Lord. The very light of nature directs man, some way or other, to do honour to his Maker, and pay him homage as his Lord. Revealed religion supposes natural religion to be an ancient and early institution, since the fall had directed men to glorify God by sacrifice, which was an implicit acknowledgment of their having received all from God as creature, and their having forfeited all to Him as sinners. A conscience thoroughly convinced of dependence and guilt would be willing to come before God with thousands of rams." Micah 6:6,7
This gave me a new attitude toward this book. As a sinner saved by God’s grace and mercy, we have an automatic response of gratefulness in our hearts and want to bring sacrifices … or to do something to serve Him. It appears to be a common characteristic of genuine Christianity … a fruit of the Spirit, if you will. That’s why Paul directs the church in Rome:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1
And the letter to the Hebrews instructs:
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Heb 13:15,16
It is part of a regenerated heart to want to do something for God. Indeed, it is expected, so it was no surprise when I found out that my good friend in Idaho was looking for a way to do a short-term mission trip in the country where I live and work. Because of the generosity of another mission-minded man willing to send him, my friend Geoffrey looked for an opportunity to help a Christian ministry.
There are several worthy ministries here, and only the Lord knows how much need there is, so Geoffrey got in touch with a small Christian school near where I teach and worked out a schedule. Although it is not the prime motivation of Christian service, a nice benefit is the joy and blessing that is shared with anyone within a ten foot radius of the service being performed. For example, his wife was able to come with him for half the time, and we were able to keep them in our home.
Geoffrey and Cyndi came to do a work for the Lord, but they are longtime friends and I felt it would be a crime for them to be here in the Dominican Republic without seeing a tropical beach. The DR is known for its beaches. It would be like going to Idaho and not seeing a potato field. So we treated them to a night and a couple of days at Cabarete … a well-known beach on the North Shore famous for its kite surfing.
It wasn’t much time but they had a tight work schedule planned and were pretty focused on the ministry that brought them here. And it took a deal of focus to work through the details of coping in a foreign country … finding the right kind of screws in a Spanish speaking hardware store, getting a credit card to work at the local ATM, and tasting strange Dominican foods.
One thing impressed me about their time here. For every single person who wants to serve the Lord in the field, there are probably 50 other people who have supported that person so he could be there. In each case, a sacrifice was made. God was honored as it all worked together. This was a simple two week project where Geoffrey helped a needy school put in some electricity, and yet the man who sent them, the churches who gave money to purchase supplies, the people who encouraged and prayed for them, my school who allowed him to ride their bus to and from work each day without charge, the neighbor missionary lady who took them many places and helped with translation, the handsome and delightful couple who housed them (?)…. all of these sacrifices were made to God from a grateful heart on an individual basis. And yet they worked together so some Dominican children and the principal could have some electricity in their school and be better able to learn about the Savior.
I’ll give just one story about how this works. Due to some freak accident (we still aren’t sure how it happened) Geoffrey discovered that he had a small sliver of metal buried in his eye. Our school nurse saw the problem and called an ophthalmologist that she knows from her church. This was on a Sunday afternoon, but this woman doctor told us to meet her at her office that same afternoon to look at the eye.
While Geoffrey and the doctor and the nurse were in the office doing eye surgery to remove the problem, I talked in the lobby with the doctor’s sister who had come with her. I found that she was one of three sisters … two of whom were doctors. One of the sisters died of a sudden heart attack only two months ago in her early 40’s. All three of the sisters had come to know the Lord a few years earlier and had a desire to serve the Lord. The sister I was talking to became a teacher in another Christian school in the area.
When the operation was over and Geoffrey emerged looking like the pirate Long John Silver in Treasure Island the doctor quietly informed me that she doesn’t charge pastors or missionaries for her services. As a sinner saved by grace her heart had been directed to glorify God by giving a sacrifice.
Geoffrey and Cyndi’s visit and the book of Leviticus have reminded me of a simple reality. Our time on earth is short. As Christians we have varying degrees of abilities and opportunities to serve, but with a grateful heart we offer sacrifices and expect no thanks or reward.
Doth (the master of the house) thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, “We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” Luke 17:9,10
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