David's Heart - Part 4

And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” So David went up at Gad's word, as the LORD commanded. And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be averted from the people.” Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.” But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel. (2 Samuel 24:18-25 ESV). There have been times when I have received offers from church members of donations of various items. Some of them were small, others large. Several of them stand out in my mind for different reasons. In on of these a well-meaning individual came to me at the end of the fiscal year and wanted to write a check for a substantial amount to be used in our building fund at the time. I was very glad to receive it until I heard his reasoning for giving. He told me that his business had made too much money that year and his accountant had advised him to give that amount as a tax deduction! That was in stark contrast to the morning I came to my office after preaching an early service and saw a plain white envelope on it. Inside the envelope were a diamond ring and a short anonymous note. The note said, “Pastor, I do not have anything else of value. This ring was given to me by my husband for our tenth wedding anniversary, please sell it and use it to help build our new building.” I was overwhelmed. The ring was eventually sold for $350.00, actually a little more than it was valued at, but it inspired others to give more than ten times as much! That was a true example of giving! David realized the same truth. Whether it is in our gifts of time, talent, or resources, they should never be costless. After all, God has set the example in the gift of his only Son on our behalf. The Christian life can be filled with sacrifice and difficulty. However, it will be worth it in the end. I can’t tell you how many people I encounter that think the Christian life is supposed to be easy. They think that this Gloryland Train is going to carry them safely into Heaven with barely a scratch. I have to be honest with you. That is wrong! The Christian life is tough at best! In David’s heart, he realized that in order to really please God, he had to be willing to sacrifice for Him. That was a heart that pleased God. Is that the kind of heart you have for God?