“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
The “therefore” early in this verse is an extraordinarily weighty word. “Therefore”, because of everything Paul wrote in previous 11 chapters…. “Therefore”, because of the extraordinary depths and depravity of our sin, the awful price of every sin, the wondrous grace of God, the reconciling work of Christ on the cross, and the marvelous will, majesty, and goodness of God…
Therefore, there’s only one appropriate response for us as beneficiaries of God’s grace, mercy, patience, love, and faithfulness: total, sacrificial commitment to God. Because of everything God has done, is doing, and will do for us in Jesus Christ, Paul begs us to commit every aspect of our lives to God. He appeals to us – by reason, emotion, evidence, and theology – to pursue lives of holiness. Yes, we’re already holy in Christ, but now we’re called and compelled by God’s presence within us to actually live in a way that reflects who we are in Christ.
We’re called to total commitment to God. Whereas a traditional sacrifice quickly gives its life over to death, we’re called in Christ to give every aspect of our life to the Lordship of Christ on an ongoing basis. We’re called to do so voluntarily as an act of reverent worship.
In many ways, it’s much, much harder to be a living sacrifice. Traditional sacrifices only yielded their life once and had no choice in the matter. We’re called to voluntarily yield every part of our lives every moment of every day. While we’re certainly happy to give some parts of life over to God, in Christ, we’re called to yield every part: work, play, marriage, family, public, private, financial, physical, mental, emotional….
Will you do what it takes to present yourself to God as a living sacrifice? What parts of your life hold you back from a life of ongoing spiritual worship?