Imagine!  It is a hot dusty day in a hot dusty land.  A young man walks into the market place.  All around him are the noises and smells of the market and temple.  The air’s filled with the bleating of sheep and people shouting.  Each step he takes at the temple he’s pushed by those around him.  The young man presents his lamb to the Levite priest. The priest examines the lamb thoroughly.  He checks for flaws, defects. The priest nods solemnly.  Relief floods the young man’s heart.  His offering was perfect.  Acceptable.  A weight lifts off his shoulders.  He is forgiven.

Did you notice? The priest didn’t look the young man up and down. He didn’t look in his eyes, or ask for a record of how he spent his time.  There is no scrutiny of the man’s heart and character.  The young man did not have to be perfect… but the sacrifice needed to be perfect. The sacrifice needed to be blemish free. (Leviticus 5:6)  The Old Testament sacrificial code shows us how we are forgiven.  It shows us how we become acceptable with God. Just as the young man had his sin covered by the blood of the acceptable lamb so too we come before God covered and made acceptable by an offering.  The offering of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. (1 Peter 1:1-19) and the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

And just as the priest didn’t examine the young man - God doesn’t look at us, He looks at the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. The blood of Jesus, the Lamb, makes us acceptable. Did you see that – feel that?  We don’t need to be perfect to come to God. The perfect sacrifice was given in Jesus. When we first come to God we are totally blemished and defective because of sin. The Bible says we are dead to God.  We are made acceptable by trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus. This is what faith is. “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”  - Romans 5:1

Our life and our right standing with God depends on this sacrifice.  It is not by our own effort…  We can never measure up or become unblemished by working for it.  When God looks at us He sees the righteousness of His Son.  We are made right. Jesus gave His life so that we can know God and be called a child of God. This should give us a sense of awe – the WOW response. Let’s live in this freedom and forgiveness.  The sacrifice has been paid.  We are forgiven.