I'm reading Leviticus. I feel like as far as books of the Bible are concerned, Leviticus has rather a bad reputation. It's usually thought of as that book with a bunch of laws that Jesus rendered moot so there's probably not a whole bunch of reasons to read it all nowadays. I mean, at least that's how I used to feel about Leviticus. To be honest, when I set out to read the whole Bible this year, I kind of saw Leviticus as something I just had to get through and honestly wasn't expecting to take too much away from it.
As usual, I wasn't all that right. Today I finished chapter 12, and let me tell you what I've learned so far. Sin is a really big deal. It seems obvious I know, but reading in-depth descriptions of the proper way to sacrifice an animal as a means of atonement will make you think about sin in a whole new way. There's something about the idea of, when you realized your sin, having to go get an unblemished sheep, goat, or bull, a pigeon or a turtledove, or some unleavened bread to bring to the temple to be sacrificed that changes your perspective. So often, I don't really see the consequences of my sin. It's easy for me to think of some sins as small and as not that big of a deal. I can guarantee, however, that if I had to go out and get something to sacrifice, I wouldn't think of my sin as so small. It would become rather big because it would inconvenience me--I would have to take my time and my money to make a sacrifice. And I would have to keep making them over and over. (Not to mention being slightly grossed out by the whole sprinkling blood thing and the removing the fat thing.)
Before I keep going, let me just say that I am very thankful for Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross and I wouldn't ever want to have to go back to the old school way of sacrificing animals and/or unleavened bread. I do think though that in terms of facing/dealing with sin, us modern-day Christians get off somewhat easier than the ones back in the Levitical days (I'm not sure if Levitical is a word, but I'm going to just go with it.) I can let myself excuse some sins as not really being sins or recognize that they're sins but not really be too bothered by them. And that's a little embarrassing/horrifying to admit. Jesus took the punishment for my sins, and that makes me beyond grateful, but I also think that sometimes the reality of that fades from my mind and I get apathetic towards sin. Especially when I don't see an immediate consequence.
What I'm learning from Leviticus is that sin is bad and that it's a big deal. It is reminding me that sin has real consequences, and it is giving me a newer, much bigger perspective of the Gospel truth that Christ died for my sins and that I am forgiven.
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