I had so undervalued the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross that I saw the only offering I had to make to Father God was me, a blemished and wounded sacrifice.
A New Way to Approach God
Knowing how to approach God is a big deal! How can we come into the presence of a righteous God when we feel dirty, sinful, and broken?
In deep depression, I once said to Him, “God, I give You my poor broken life. I give You my mess.” As I prayed that, I sensed a little pride inside thinking that I had prayed a pretty nice little prayer. It certainly was an improvement over other recent prayers about putting me out of my misery. But I heard in my spirit, “That’s not good enough.” I was stunned. I couldn’t imagine that giving Him my broken life was not good enough for Him.
I asked with some indignation, “Lord, what do you mean, it isn’t good enough?”
Immediately, He directed me to these verses in Malachi:
“But you profane [my name] by saying of the Lord’s table, ‘It is defiled,’ and of its food, ‘It is contemptible.’ And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the Lord Almighty. “When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the Lord. “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.[1]
I was appalled! Not only did He call me a cheat, but He said I had accused Him of offering me contemptible food! At first I didn’t know what to think, I was too shocked. But then I settled down and listened, and then I recognized my mistake. I had so undervalued the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross that I saw the only offering I had to make to Father God was me, a blemished and wounded sacrifice. But Jesus had done it all. He was asking me to offer myself as a redeemed child, who is one with His son Jesus, the acceptable male in the flock.
Months earlier, I had vowed to give Jesus everything I was and had. I told him my life was no longer my own; it belonged to Him. I knew He made me the righteousness of God and all that Jesus is, He put into me, re-creating me in His likeness and image. God had spared nothing for my sake. He had given me everything He had and I had given Him everything I had. And yet, in the moment, I thought all I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife. But I had His redeemed me to offer to Him!
I kneeled down and asked God to forgive me for belittling all that Jesus is within me. I told him that night I would never, ever come to him with only the problem. When He gave me Jesus, He gave me the solution. Jesus is the solution to every problem. I saw that I came to God one time in need and in that moment of asking Jesus to receive my life and save me, He did. He really did. He gave me everything because He gave me Himself.
Because I am in Jesus, I’m so much more than a blemished sacrifice. Jesus is the acceptable male in the flock in me. When I offer myself up to Father God, I come to God in the finished work of who Jesus is and what He has done.
Am I perfect and do I walk without sin? Of course not. Is there still work to do in my life to enable me to shine as a light in a dark place? Of course there is. But when I go to Father God, I go cleansed and made whole. He always, always receives me just as He receives Jesus. Always. Why? Because He and I have a secret we share - a secret place of full acceptance. I have an acceptable male in my flock (Jesus is in me), and I come to Him in that acceptable male (I am in Jesus). I come to Him through the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
When you come to Father God, come as a favored son, righteous and whole.
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[1] Malachi 1:12-14