2 Peter 3:8
…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament, three types of burnt offerings were brought to God. I believe that the rich brought offerings of young bulls (Leviticus 1:3), the not-so-rich brought sheep (Leviticus 1:10) and the poor brought turtledoves. (Leviticus 1:14) Though of varying sizes and values, the different burnt offerings were all accepted as sweet aroma to the Lord. (Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17)
These burnt offerings speak of Jesus and His perfect work at the cross. Today, to bring a “rich” offering means that you have a large revelation of Jesus and His finished work. To bring a “not-so-rich” offering means that you have a smaller revelation of Jesus and His finished work. But whatever the size of the revelation you have of Jesus, God accepts you just the same because Jesus is the only measure of your acceptance before God.
God wants you to grow in your revelation of Jesus because your well-being hinges on it. Before that first Passover night, all the children of Israel had received the same Word of God – “when I see the blood, I will pass over you”. (Exodus 12:13) I would think that some households lived through that night trembling in fear as they heard the loud wails outside their homes, while other households rested in God’s Word, ate their Passover lamb and spent the night rejoicing in His protection, deliverance and love for them. You see, as long as the households came under the blood, they were all saved, trembling or not! But when they didn’t have a revelation of the power of the blood to save them from the destroyer, fear came in even though the blood availed for them. In the same way, God does not want you to struggle through trying times with fear, apprehension and stress. He wants you to enjoy and rest in a greater revelation of Jesus as your deliverer and salvation.
In 2 Peter 1:2, it says, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you…” God wants you to experience more of His grace and peace in your life. How? The verse continues, “…in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord”. The more knowledge of Jesus you have, the more God’s grace and peace will rest on you!
