¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, ^[a]to repentance.” (Matthew 9:13 NKJV)

Christ provided the sacrifice that paved our way to heaven. Thus, He is not looking for ritual sacrifices to atone for sin any longer. This does not mean that we do not need to make sacrifices in our lives to live a Godly life. Just that a blood sacrifice is no longer needed as Christ was completely poured out for our sin. Our sacrifice is more in what we are letting go of in this life so that we can have life abundantly.

Nothing we have is truly our own. God owns it all and we must be willing to sacrifice that which we hold on to so that it does not get in the way of our relationship with Him. He may call upon us to give up and give in so that we may be whole. It goes contrary to our thinking that we may need to give things up to become whole, but this is true more often than not. We cling too tightly to the things of this world and are not willing to let them go when God calls upon us to do so.

Reflect on: What this means to you. Is God calling you to give something up, sacrificing it to His better will?