I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1, ESV)
Very few, if any, achieve excellence without sacrifice. Survey the leaders across all sports, and you will soon discover what others have always known— consistent performance at high levels demands sacrifice. The recipe for greatness in any endeavor requires sacrifice, be it family, sport, or business.
No doubt, we often make the mistake of sacrificing the more valuable for the less valuable. In a moment of self-reflection, how many corporate leaders look back and realize they neglected their families on the “altar of fame and fortune?”
For those who love this great game of golf, we know this reality of sacrifice is essential if we are to make progress in our performance on the course. It might be the case that one sacrifice playing with their regular foursome for a season to work out the necessary swing changes by going to the range and staying there until the “hitch in our git-a-long” is gone.
No matter the sphere—our families, our marriages, our vocations, our hobbies, and our philanthropic organizations—if they reach levels of excellence, then the sacrifice will be “par for the course.”
For what many consider to be the Apostle Paul’s magnum opus, the book of Romans; Paul has, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, spent eleven chapters describing with unspeakable precision this great salvation that Christ Jesus has purchased for wayward sinners at the cost of his own life—body and soul.
When he arrives in his letter at today’s text, he is summing up what our response should be to the one who sacrificed his life on our behalf. For Paul, the only response worthy of such sacrificial love is to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice…(i.e., the whole person).”
Come again! What in the world is a “living sacrifice?” Throughout the Scriptures, we see all sorts of animal sacrifices pointing forward to Jesus’ sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice. In every case, the victim dies. In the Old Testament, animals die, foreshadowing the death of the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
A sacrifice, by definition, implies death. Yet, here, Paul argues, in light of the indescribable grace shown to us as wayward sinners, that we are to present our bodies as a “living sacrifice” to God. He, then, calls it our “spiritual worship.”
A “living sacrifice” is a life lived in death to self yet alive to God, death to sin yet alive to righteousness, death to worldliness yet alive to God’s good world, dying to our past yet alive to our new life in Christ. Dead to those things that grieve God yet alive to those that please him—we are “living sacrifices.” These things are true, not just for the preacher, but for the “butcher, baker and candlestick maker.”
We are “by the mercies of God” to present our bodies to him as instruments of righteousness. We are to appear before him daily, ready to receive our assignments for the advancement of his kingdom. To hear him correctly and to be empowered by his Spirit, one must be “transformed by the renewing of the mind.”
For that to happen, one must know how he thinks. And knowing how he thinks is only found in Scripture. Thankfully, he has preserved his thoughts in the revelation of the Old and New Testaments.
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Prayer – Spirit of the living God, open our eyes to the great adventure of knowing, worshipping, and serving you.