I Dare You

I dare you. That's right, I said I dare you! I dare you to read Leviticus 16. I dare you to read it, and then go to work and try to "blow off the little sins" you commit over the course of the day. Something tells me very few of my readers will actually go and check out the entirety of chapter 16, much less chapter 17. But together, these two chapters tell us exactly what had to be done every year by God's people, just to receive His forgiveness for their sins.

So, what happens now? We live under the new law, right? No sweat. Sins don't mean as much to God now, because we don't have to pay for them anymore, right? Now that Christ came and cleared all that sacrifice mess up, the only sacrifice of the Bulls we have to think about is when they let Michael Jordan retire!



Maybe just once it would be beneficial for me, if I could just wrap my tiny melon around the real blood, sweat and tears that were actually expelled by the people of Israel, as they fulfilled God's commands in order to receive His forgiveness. This long, painful, uncomfortable, awkward and tiresome ritual that had to be completed was a yearly event for them!

And me, a Christian...I complain about how hard it is for me to "take up my cross" daily...how hard it is to be a Christian in a secular world...how difficult it is to part with 10% of my income, and then to have to listen to the church ask me to give God more...and how utterly devastating it is for me to have to sacrifice one extra hour to be Jesus to someone, because they need His love, too. And all of this because someone died in my place, keeping me from enduring excruciating suffering for eternity. I have it so rough.

But, nonetheless, I dare you to read it, anyway, and then shut your Bible and say, "I don't see what all the fuss is really about." Go ahead, just try it:

Leviticus 16:1 - 17:16