David had sinned yet again. And the Lord confronted David about his sin; he had to face the consequences of his offense. But as the angel of the Lord enforced his judgment, still once more the Lord showed his mercy. As an expression of repentance and gratitude, David wanted to build an altar and make an offering to the Lord, in the place where the Lord halted the execution of his judgment. Since the place was owned by a person named Araunah, David proposed to buy the property. Instead, Araunah offered to give David the property, and even to supply everything needed for the offering—animals, grain, wood. David’s response reveals the heart of a true worshiper. “No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and give it to the LORD. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing!” (1 Chronicles 21.24 NLT)
David understood that anything that he offered to God must be his to offer, not someone else’s. The service that we offer to God must be our own. Our offerings to God must cost us something. Obedience to God must be our obedience. Otherwise, we really are not giving the Lord anything. Yet, somehow, we have the tendency to act as though we can serve the Lord and give him offerings “by proxy.” We ride on another’s obedience, service, and offering. Though we may not say it, our actions may reveal that we are drawing on another’s obedience to make us feel good about ourselves, as though we were the one obedient and serving the Lord. In truth, we only deceive ourselves.
A Christian father may feel good about the work of his missionary son in a foreign land. But he himself is lax in his Christian service through his local church. A Christian woman may feel that surge of inspiration when she hears the testimony of a devoted follower of Christ in the face of persecution. She may even pass on the stories of perseverance. Yet she is not willing to face inconveniences for the sake of Christ herself. A church member may feel a sense of pride in the generous giving of his church to missions. But seldom does he give of his own resources to missions. He does not even tithe!
Jesus declared: “If any of you wants to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9.23). The proper response to Jesus’ call to discipleship is for each individual person to make his or her own choice and action to obey Christ. No obedience by proxy. There is no other way. Obedience is costly. But it is worth the cost.
—Keith Jainga