“Therefore I urge
you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2, NASB.
Is this not our
daily calling? That we present our entire selves, our bodies and our minds, as
sacrifices to God? Can we hear Jesus saying that we are to love God with all of
our heart, mind, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30)?
Are we holding
anything back from God?
We live in a land
that exalts personal freedom, but the follower of Jesus Christ is a servant;
more than a servant, he or she is a slave belonging to Jesus Christ. We live in
a land that exalts individual “rights” and insists on expanding those rights
and defending them at all cost; but the woman or man or child who belongs to
Jesus is the property of Another and has no “rights” in the ultimate sense of
the word – all “rights” belong to Jesus Christ.
We are surrounded
by a Christianity that requires nothing and promises to cater to our desires
and wants and every need, a Christianity that teaches us to ask, “What’s in it
for me?” The disciple of Jesus Christ is required to deny himself and take up
his cross and follow Jesus. The disciple of Jesus Christ does not ask, “What
can I get?” Rather she perpetually asks, “What can I give?”
Our bodies are
not our own, our minds are not our own, our lives are not our own – we have
been “bought with a price.”
The Lord
willing, there are 365 mornings in the year 2021. May we begin each morning,
and live each day, by offering ourselves to God as living sacrifices. May
Romans 12:1-2 be the foundation of our morning prayers and set the trajectory
of our days.
No comments:
Post a Comment