All In

Verse: Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Devotion
What on earth does it mean to offer yourself as a living sacrifice? What does it mean for it to be holy and pleasing to God? And how is that connected to worship?

I’m no scholar, but here are some thoughts. First, to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice is to give ourselves fully to Christ, ongoing, for the rest of our lives. It isn’t a one time thing. To be a living sacrifice, versus one that dies on the altar, is to be one that is ongoing. We are to continually give our lives in sacrifice to Jesus and the Gospel. And it is full – not part of us – all of us. Our full life abandoned to Jesus.

Second, as we do this, part of the work is that God is making us holy. The sacrifices of the Old Testament had to be perfect. They couldn’t have any imperfections or blemishes on them. As we live for Jesus, we make choices to be holy and pleasing. We choose a life that is “set apart” from the world (see Romans 12:2!). It’s a sacrifice for sure. It is humbling, frustrating at times, and sacrificial to live a holy life and not give ourselves over to the ways of the world. But, it is worth it in view of this next point:

Third, this is an act of worship. Living a life that is fully lived for God and not ourselves is an act of devotion and love “in view of God’s mercy.” In other words, in light of the amazing mercies that God has poured upon us, this life abandoned to the cause of Christ is our response – our act of worship back to him. When Christ has given us all, what else can we do but give him all back? When he has forgiven us, how can we not forgive? When he has had mercy on us, how can we not have mercy on others? When he has suffered for us, how can we not suffer for him?

Every day we get this choice to live our lives as a living sacrifice to God in response to his great love and mercy in our lives. What an amazing opportunity!

Author: Christian Dunn