Autism: A Living Sacrifice
Whoa! Did I grab your attention with that title??
Hey friends, I want to share with you what the Lord led me to as I ugly cried at my bedside one day when it was a rough day in our home with autism. For more on my family’s autism journey, check out my blog section called “Our Journey.”
In a moment of pure agony over my son’s battle with the symptoms of autism, I cried out to the Lord and that gentle, tender, loving, still, small voice simply said, “sacrifice.”
Old Testament Sacrifice vs. the New Covenant
Let’s pause here to talk about sacrifice in the Bible. God’s Word is one of my sources for all comfort and hope. Primarily in the Old Testament, a sacrifice was something you offered up to God to give thanks to God and mend relationships through forgiveness of sins. An animal was offered up in your place as the sacrifice because blood was a requirement. Even though there are several types of sacrifices, let’s quickly look at each of the main 5 types of sacrifices God commanded of His people in the Old testament.
A burnt offering was a sacrifice to be performed every morning and evening for the atonement of sins and to gain God’s acceptance by doing so.
The grain offering was performed daily to express gratitude to God and shown favor.
The peace offering was not only a sacrifice, but also a meal! Family and friends, along with the priests would be invited to partake of the meat from the sacrifice in the presence of the Lord in the tabernacle. This meal time was to symbolize the person coming back into joyous fellowship with God after the sacrifice was made.
The sin offering was a sacrifice meant to be cleansed of the sins committed. This sacrifice specifically points out the requirement of blood to be a cover of sins.
The guilt offering required sacrifice and restitution, meaning a person had to pay back plus 20% to the one he defrauded after confessing his sin publicly.
Now, if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, you know that Jesus fulfilled the need for any ritualistic animal or grain sacrifices. His blood is now what covers our sins for us to enter into eternity with Him. When God sees us, now He sees Jesus in us, not our sin and we are accepted by Him. No more need for the burnt offering. God also now accepts our gratitude of worship as we give Him the praise for who He is. No more need for the grain offering. I especially love that with accepting Jesus into our heart, we are gifted the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! That means 24/7 fellowship with God! What a blessing! No more need for a peace offering. I already mentioned it is Jesus’ blood that covers our sins so no more need for the sin offering. Lastly, we are no longer guilty in Christ (Romans 8:1) and the Holy Spirit prompts us on how to right our wrongs towards others. No more need for the guilt offering. God also says that He desires obedience more than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).
That brings us to figuring out what Paul meant when he wrote to the Romans.
Romans 12:1.
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.”
So, what does it look like for us to worship God as a holy and living sacrifice? Well, first, this means that God wants all of you. Body, mind and soul (Mark 12:30). He wants us to take care of our bodies with healthy eating and exercise and avoiding sexual immorality and gluttony (Proverbs 23:19-21, 1 Timothy 4:8, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17) . He wants us to give our minds over to things that are godly (Philipians 4:8). He wants intimacy with our soul, us seeking His presence daily. He wants us to know that we are loved and valued by Him (Psalm 23).
What exactly are we sacrificing then?
Sacrifice means we are to deny our fleshly desires that distract us from an intimate relationship with God. You might be surprised at what can be a distraction. No more junk food (usually what we run to for stress), no more laziness, no more sexual immorality. We guard our minds by refraining from trashy music, books and television. We guard our hearts by avoiding negative self-talk and break off toxic relationships that tear us down. Instead, we have godly people and influences in our lives that speak life into us. We must also be willing to recognize when something that is not necessarily bad has become an idol in our life. Once that thing has become an idol it is sinful to continue on with it. For example, I had to recognize my obsession with autism recovery, and give it all to the Lord trusting in His timing and His promptings on how to help my son overcome the challenges of autism. Once I cut that obsession out of my life, I experienced that peace that surpasses understanding. Holy and sacrificial living is a Christ-centered life. Here are some verses to drive this home.
Mark 16:24
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”
Ephesians 4:21
“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes for Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy.”
Colossians 3:12
“Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
What does being a holy and living sacrifice unto God have to do with autism?
It’s all about faith in Jesus to work out the miracle here on earth until we receive fully in heaven. As we submit our will to God and take steps of faith in obedience to do His will, sacrifice is required. And in the autism journey, the sacrifices are heavy. Take joy, though, in the journey in which God wants to reveal Himself to you in a tremendous, undeniable way.
Okay, now let’s look at autism. A compilation of symptoms have been deemed as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Primarily, these all have to do with communication skills, social skills, and ritualistic or repetitive behaviors. There is plenty of research out there on things that negatively impact our children on the spectrum. I’m sure you know that because you have probably obsessed over it like I have. Let’s look at some examples of the things that exacerbate the symptoms of autism. Junk foods. Knowing this, you have a sacrifice to make, and it needs to be done as a family. The harmful effects of EMF are hot on the scene right now. Knowing this, you have a sacrifice to make. If not completely cold turkey, then significant reduction in the usage of electronics. Exercise is known to promote brain development. Knowing this you have a sacrifice to make. The whole family must overcome any laziness. Many children on the spectrum thrive more in the homeschool setting. This is another sacrifice you may have to consider. Yes, all these changes will hurt the flesh because that is what sacrifice does, but remember, blessings will come upon you. Our most acceptable act of worship is denying our flesh and giving God ALL of us! Put intimacy with God first, and He will guide the rest.
References
https://www.crossway.org/articles/the-provision-of-sacrifice-in-the-old-testament/
