May 20th, 2024
by John Kelley
by John Kelley
If you get to know me well, you’ll find out quickly that I love the outdoors. More specifically, I love backpacking. When I’m not out in the backcountry myself, I really enjoy watching others backpacking across one of the three legs of what is known as the triple crown on YouTube. There are three long trails that make up the triple crown. The first is the Appalachian Trail. The AT is probably the most famous of the trails; starting in Georgia and ending in Maine. The next two trails are the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. Both of those trails start at the Mexican border and hike north to the Canadian border.
In 2019, I watched a man named Cory McDonald attempt to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Going by the moniker “Second Chance Hiker,” Cory’s story was especially interesting, given that he weighed in excess of 400 lbs and didn’t train for the hike. He was in terrible shape and had never been backpacking like this before. On his first day on the trail, Second-chance had only hiked around a mile, was in terrible pain, and he had drank all of his water. The next water source was miles away, but he was blessed with a rainstorm that night and was able to gather rainwater off of his tent. Even with the awful start to his hike, there was something interesting about watching a man who wanted to lose 200 lbs hiking a 3000-mile trail.
As his journey progressed, the weight started coming off, and his miles hiked began to expand. He even found a girl on trail that he fell in love with and began to hike with him. Things were going great until episode 73 of his hike on YouTube. It was in that episode that Cory found himself sliding uncontrollably down the side of a mountain before coming to an abrupt, painful stop. After sliding so far, he hikes back up to where he started his slide and began to hike again. Shortly after this, his adrenaline wore off, and he began to feel a sharp, stinging pain. At this point, he is screaming out in pain and knows he can’t continue without help. His new girlfriend, Nessa, calls for help, and rescue workers arrive in a helicopter to get him out of the woods. He realized quickly that without someone coming to save him, he may not make it out of the woods alive.
Do you feel like Second Chance hiker when it comes to life? Are you unhappy with where you are? As you’re going along this journey, do you feel like you won’t make it out without someone coming to save you? Life is hard, and we were never designed to have to live with one major thing that has ruined life on earth, evil. When God created the Garden of Eden, He planned for it to be a place of perfection where He could walk daily with His creation and enjoy it. Unfortunately, evil came in the form of the serpent, shortly followed by the temptation of Adam and Eve, then followed up by their falling to that temptation. Now that sin was at play, we were doomed. God’s perfect creation was now tainted, and He couldn’t be in the presence of that sin they had allowed to enter their lives. This utopia was now in the rear-view, and man had to live a life that would end in death. What could man possibly do to find a way out of the future he had created for himself?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16–17
Though not a helicopter, Jesus’ sacrifice did pull us out of the woods and danger. Why did he have to sacrifice, though? Why did God have to send Him to die and shed His blood for us? To answer that, we have to dig a little into the Old Testament, all the way back to Adam and Eve.
In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.
Genesis 4:3–4
While the full story here deals with some serious scandal, I want to focus on the fact that this is the first time we see worship in the Bible, and it is through sacrifice. Both Cain and Abel are giving to the Lord. However, Cain’s sacrifice doesn’t carry the same weight as Abel’s.
And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
Genesis 4:4–5
While Abel had sacrificed the best of his flock that would have made the best food for himself and his family, Cain had simply made a fruit plate. There wasn’t a lot of thought there. He simply gave something lacking luster. But why did they have to sacrifice in the first place? What does that sacrifice do?
“If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”
Leviticus 1:3–4
The book of Leviticus is where we find what would be called, “The Law of Moses.” This is where we read of all the rites and rituals that would become part of the Jewish tradition, and it is here where we see the what, how, and why of sacrifice. Sin needed atonement or reparation for its wrong, and God deserves the best. These animal sacrifices needed to carry weight, in that they had to have a cost associated with them, and God honored that cost by forgiving sins. Those sacrifices, however, only covered over the recent sins of the one giving the sacrifice. As a race, humanity needs something more.
Now we understand why Jesus’ sacrifice is so important. He became the “lamb that was slain” (Revelation 5:12) so that we could have atonement over all sin. God loves His creation so much that even the sacrifice of His own Son wasn’t off the table when it came to redemption. We are the fortunate recipients of a gift we’ve never earned or deserved. All we have to do is call on Him, repent, believe, be baptized, and live out our lives in gratitude and service of an Almighty God who was willing to pay the ultimate price for us. Suddenly, our little issues here on earth pale in comparison.
The question now is, “What am I willing to sacrifice for the cause of Christ?” Am I willing to give everything just as Jesus gave everything for me? Our time here on this planet is short, and we need to make sure nothing is off the table when it comes to our service to God. When we step back and take an honest look, our sacrifice is nothing in comparison to the amazing grace of Jesus Christ.
In 2019, I watched a man named Cory McDonald attempt to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Going by the moniker “Second Chance Hiker,” Cory’s story was especially interesting, given that he weighed in excess of 400 lbs and didn’t train for the hike. He was in terrible shape and had never been backpacking like this before. On his first day on the trail, Second-chance had only hiked around a mile, was in terrible pain, and he had drank all of his water. The next water source was miles away, but he was blessed with a rainstorm that night and was able to gather rainwater off of his tent. Even with the awful start to his hike, there was something interesting about watching a man who wanted to lose 200 lbs hiking a 3000-mile trail.
As his journey progressed, the weight started coming off, and his miles hiked began to expand. He even found a girl on trail that he fell in love with and began to hike with him. Things were going great until episode 73 of his hike on YouTube. It was in that episode that Cory found himself sliding uncontrollably down the side of a mountain before coming to an abrupt, painful stop. After sliding so far, he hikes back up to where he started his slide and began to hike again. Shortly after this, his adrenaline wore off, and he began to feel a sharp, stinging pain. At this point, he is screaming out in pain and knows he can’t continue without help. His new girlfriend, Nessa, calls for help, and rescue workers arrive in a helicopter to get him out of the woods. He realized quickly that without someone coming to save him, he may not make it out of the woods alive.
Do you feel like Second Chance hiker when it comes to life? Are you unhappy with where you are? As you’re going along this journey, do you feel like you won’t make it out without someone coming to save you? Life is hard, and we were never designed to have to live with one major thing that has ruined life on earth, evil. When God created the Garden of Eden, He planned for it to be a place of perfection where He could walk daily with His creation and enjoy it. Unfortunately, evil came in the form of the serpent, shortly followed by the temptation of Adam and Eve, then followed up by their falling to that temptation. Now that sin was at play, we were doomed. God’s perfect creation was now tainted, and He couldn’t be in the presence of that sin they had allowed to enter their lives. This utopia was now in the rear-view, and man had to live a life that would end in death. What could man possibly do to find a way out of the future he had created for himself?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16–17
Though not a helicopter, Jesus’ sacrifice did pull us out of the woods and danger. Why did he have to sacrifice, though? Why did God have to send Him to die and shed His blood for us? To answer that, we have to dig a little into the Old Testament, all the way back to Adam and Eve.
In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.
Genesis 4:3–4
While the full story here deals with some serious scandal, I want to focus on the fact that this is the first time we see worship in the Bible, and it is through sacrifice. Both Cain and Abel are giving to the Lord. However, Cain’s sacrifice doesn’t carry the same weight as Abel’s.
And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
Genesis 4:4–5
While Abel had sacrificed the best of his flock that would have made the best food for himself and his family, Cain had simply made a fruit plate. There wasn’t a lot of thought there. He simply gave something lacking luster. But why did they have to sacrifice in the first place? What does that sacrifice do?
“If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”
Leviticus 1:3–4
The book of Leviticus is where we find what would be called, “The Law of Moses.” This is where we read of all the rites and rituals that would become part of the Jewish tradition, and it is here where we see the what, how, and why of sacrifice. Sin needed atonement or reparation for its wrong, and God deserves the best. These animal sacrifices needed to carry weight, in that they had to have a cost associated with them, and God honored that cost by forgiving sins. Those sacrifices, however, only covered over the recent sins of the one giving the sacrifice. As a race, humanity needs something more.
Now we understand why Jesus’ sacrifice is so important. He became the “lamb that was slain” (Revelation 5:12) so that we could have atonement over all sin. God loves His creation so much that even the sacrifice of His own Son wasn’t off the table when it came to redemption. We are the fortunate recipients of a gift we’ve never earned or deserved. All we have to do is call on Him, repent, believe, be baptized, and live out our lives in gratitude and service of an Almighty God who was willing to pay the ultimate price for us. Suddenly, our little issues here on earth pale in comparison.
The question now is, “What am I willing to sacrifice for the cause of Christ?” Am I willing to give everything just as Jesus gave everything for me? Our time here on this planet is short, and we need to make sure nothing is off the table when it comes to our service to God. When we step back and take an honest look, our sacrifice is nothing in comparison to the amazing grace of Jesus Christ.
Posted in Christian Foundations, Eternity, faith, forgiveness, grace, redemption, Sacrifice, Sin, the cross, Worship
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