“But the king said to Araunah, ‘No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.’ So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.” 2 Samuel 24:24
I am struck by the story of David in 2 Samuel 24:18–25. After being instructed by the Lord to build an altar for his glory, all of the materials for building it are graciously offered to him. The burnt offering, every stone, every piece of wood, every item would be paid for because of someone else’s sacrifice.
Think about it—all the sacrifice had been eliminated. The hard work, the loss of personal money, everything could have been prevented because of the generosity of one man. Were any of us in his shoes, we would gladly complete the tasks on someone else’s dime, having eliminated the burden of financial loss.
But David responds, surprisingly, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” In the account of his own life that he will give, David knew that what was righteous was not just the end, but the means. The task given to him from the Lord was not just the building of an altar, but the building of an altar that would come at great expense to him.
Jesus calls us to sacrificial generosity. This is true with our time, talent, and treasure. Ultimately, what you do with your time, talent, and treasure is really just an evidence of what you worship.
In your life today, God is asking you to do something that will take sacrificial generosity to complete. It will take radical obedience. It will take faithfully walking with him to find that, at the end, what is now considered loss will be considered gain.
What it comes down to is this: Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross for our sins, so we follow his example by giving sacrificially to spread the good news of the gospel.
Jesus calls us to his mission. He wants to use us and the resources God has blessed us with so that more people can meet him. Where are your time, talent, and treasure going? How can you serve and glorify God with these things more? Where can you start serving today?
