I am not sure that we take sin seriously enough anymore.  With Jesus as our sacrificial lamb we allow ourselves to be too far removed from the price tag of sin.  Attempts are made to understand the cost through singing songs about Calvary, watching movies like “The Passion of the Christ,” and meditating on Jesus’ sacrifice during communion; but I wonder – does it have the same affect on us as having to purchase a perfect animal, especially a cute lamb or calf, and watching the priest kill it in order to atone for our wrong-doing?  Don’t get me wrong, I know that Jesus dying was far more valuable than an animal and I’m sure that if I had to stand there and watch him take the beatings and watch him suffer on the cross reality would hit me real fast, too.  I’m just pondering whether being so far removed from the sacrifice if lends toward our being too casual about how often we sin and the gravity of our failings.

I too have been reading in Numbers (yes, John, I am also guilty of reading only a few of the tribes’ sacrifices and realizing it was repetative skipping to the end), and as I read through the requirements of the sacrificial system I can’t help but think of the parade of animals that would be required to cover my sins on a regular basis.  With all the people bringing their sacrifices to the tabernacel and later the temple, the stench of burning animals along with the flies that must have been attracted to the blood would have been constant reminders to everyone nearby of their own sinful nature. We have no such constant inducement to dwell on our shortcomings and to realize just how much we are sinning.

Jesus responded to the woman who washed his feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and then annointed them with perfume in Luke 7 by telling Peter “Her sins have been forgiven – for she loved much, but he who has been forgivin little loves little.”  So, how does our love for our Lord grow –  by realizing how serious our sins are and how much we have been forgiven.  Start counting sheep and watch your love grow.