Today's Passage: Leviticus 16

For those of you that may not know what atonement is, to atone for something is to make an amends or to reconcile after a grievance.  Our reconciliation with God IS the theme of the Bible.  After Adam and Eve we all need to amend our relationship with God.  To make it more complicated, we live our lives day in and day out stumbling around the idea of what God wants for and from us.  When we fail or "sin", God desires for us to be reconciled to Him.

Here in Leviticus God gave Moses and Aaron instructions on how to atone once a year for all the people of Israel.  Our atonement today however, is a bit different.  In Hebrews 10:1-18 we see how Jesus becomes the last atonement sacrifice and that these rituals, that are described in Leviticus, were actually just a way for Israel to remain humble by remembering their sins against God. 

The love that Christ showed on the cross is such an important element of our reconciliation to God.  If you have read through the Old Testament you know that God's people fail at truly keeping all His commands that we find here in Leviticus.  God proved to us through "The Law" that we can't reconcile with Him without His help.  That's why Jesus' love and willingness to die for us is so powerful. 

God did all the reconciling for us, we just have to believe...  I don't know about you but that's a pretty humbling thought for me.