"I beseech ( urgently and fervently implore) you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." - Romans 12:1-2
What does it mean to offer ourselves as living sacrifices? Well, I think that if you take the second verse into account, it means that we are to abandon the world's values and be spiritually transformed - thereby proving God's intent for our new life in Christ. But that will cost us something - quite a lot actually. I am reminded of King David.
"Then Araunah said, 'Why has my lord the king come to his servant?' And David said, 'To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.' Now Araunah said to David, 'Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.' And Araunah said to the king, 'May the Lord your God accept you.' Then the king said to Araunah, “'No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.' So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver." - 2 Samuel 24:21-24
The man wanted to do a good thing for the King - just give the King the threshing floor. Certainly the man would be praised for his generosity. But David refused the offer. He was making a sacrifice to the Lord. He said, essentially, that a sacrifice is not a sacrifice if it does not cost you something. So - when the Apostle Paul said we are to offer our very lives as living sacrifices - laying our lives down on the altar, if you will. Sacrificing what? Our love and devotion to the culture we were born in to. The practices of our families that are not consistent with the Word of God. The things in the world that have become gods in our hearts, competing for the place the Jehovah God holds.
I left the military just short of retirement for the good of my family. I loved the military - but God told me, in no uncertain terms that I needed to lay my military career and the success I enjoyed down on the altar. Some time later Martie asked me if I regretted leaving the military, knowing how much I loved it. I told her "no", I didn't regret it although I did miss it. That sacrifice cost me something and I was happy to make it, in light of the good it brought to my family and the satisfaction that comes from obeying God's leading. The purpose of my sharing that is to give you perspective. We don't boast about what we have "given up" as Christians. Instead we praise God for the privilege of making those sacrifices.
What have you surrendered to the Lord? Are there things that you can't quite let go of. It is not a matter of will, but of faith and obedience.
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'" - Matthew 16:24
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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