Since God was central to the life of the people of Israel, how each person honored Him would be of great importance. So in Deuteronomy 17:1, He specified that an ox or a sheep to be sacrificed to Him must be without blemish or defect. To offer a defective sacrifice to Him would be detestable.
In the Old Testament days, if they wanted to offer to
God, they would come with an unblemished animal to Him. What eventually would be
offered on the altar of sacrifice would be the carcass of a dead animal. As
Christians, Paul tells us in Romans 12:1 that when we come to offer to God, we no
longer come with an animal. We offer to Him our lives as a living sacrifice. To
offer to Him our life is the only reasonable act of worship in the light of all
that He had done for us in Christ Jesus.
Notice that the sacrifice God wanted of His people
was an unblemished ox or lamb. Similarly, He wants us to give to Him our lives as
a living sacrifice. We must offer to Him an unblemished life. What does it mean
to give to God an unblemished life? It is one that is cleansed by the blood of
Christ and totally yielded to serve Him. It is offering a life actively pursuing
His will and wholly consecrated to serve His purpose. It is a life offered in faith
and set to obey His Word. It is living a life of wholehearted devotion to Him alone.
Anything short of this is not worthy for Him!
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