On the tenth day of this month each man must take a lamb or a young goat for his family—one animal per household. . . . Your animal must be a one-year-old male that has no defects.
Exodus 12:3, 5
S ince the cross, sacrifice no longer has to be made for our sins (see Heb. 10:18–19). Today, sacrifice for a God Girl is associated with giving up something that matters to you, and it is a part of how you worship God. When the Israelites were told to sacrifice a lamb for the Passover (see Exodus 12), they were told to select one that was special, with no defects, aka perfect. This perfect little lamb was to be cared for by the family for four days and then to be slaughtered. So why didn’t God tell them any old animal would do? Why didn’t he just say kill a pigeon or a rat? Because the sacrifice was not only about killing the animal but also about the people who needed and maybe even loved the animal giving up what they needed and loved. Sacrifice isn’t about giving up things that are easy to give up; it’s about giving up what is hard to give up.
A lot of times we say we’re giving up stuff or making sacrifices for God when we’re really not, like saying we won’t date anymore even though we haven’t had a date in a year. In that case, saying that not dating is your sacrifice to God is not technically true since you weren’t dating anyway. But giving up any daydreaming or thinking about dating would be a great sacrifice if that would be almost impossible for you without God’s help. So whatever you want to give up for God, make sure that it’s yours before you give it. In other words, if giving it up hurts and you’ll notice its absence, then that’s a valid sacrifice.
When you give up something for God, you also have to make sure that it’s not a sin you are giving up. Choosing not to sin is not sacrifice. Remember the lamb: it was to be without defect, a symbol of sinlessness. Not dirty and unclean, a symbol of sin. Sacrifice has to do with giving up what is good, not what is evil. Giving up what is evil or sinful is repentance, not sacrifice, and is a daily requirement.