Romans 12:1 “I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
(KJV)
LOVE
Life is a
sacrifice.
Obedience is
better than sacrifice.
Victory is
guaranteed in Christ.
Everybody
responds to love.
Love is
essential! The task God has called us to will not succeed without real,
earnest, examples of LOVE being exhibited through our lives. People respond to
love and we all have an idea of what it looks like. God’s mercy opens the door
for us to become examples of His love, and He speaks to us through both His
Word and the leading of His Spirit teaching us His expectation for us in love.
He expects that we become living sacrifices. We are to be holy and acceptable
to God.
The thought
of being a living sacrifice brings to mind images of pain, discomfort, and
hardship; so, to the natural mind, it is not a good idea to become a sacrifice.
This is a paradox. The relationship of life and sacrifice is both overwhelming
and inspiring. It is impossible to impact this world with the message of the
gospel without becoming a sacrifice. Death is not a pleasant thought and physically
we will go to any lengths to keep sustain or protect our lives. (Please note: I
am not in any way suggesting we literally hang on a cross or in any way take
the place of Christ.) Spiritually, however, we must lay down our lives to be
holy and pleasing to God. We sacrifice our ambitions, wants, and desires to
satisfy a holy calling. The only way that is possible is through LOVE –– Life is a sacrifice. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Victory is guaranteed in Christ. Everybody responds to love.
Scripture
tells us that we are transformed through the power of His love and the first
representation of that transformation is our view of life. We no longer live to
be served — we live to serve! Life, at least the Christian life of abundance,
is sacrifice. Scripture also tells us this is not simply expected; it is a
reasonable expectation as an act of our worship. Is anyone else feeling caught
in the balance, teetering on the edge? The only reliable, surefooted, approach
to accepting our position in this paradox is deep, abiding faith. God never
calls us to something He does not equip us for. Therefore we have the ability
to become living sacrifices offered up on the altar as a life that is lived to
the glory of God. He enables us to live as examples of His love.
Daily
living as a sacrifice by the grace given to us from God shows two things to the
world around us. First it shows our commitment to God and second it shows God’s
commitment to all who place their trust in Him. Living a life of love becomes
easy when we relinquish control of our life to Christ. Allowing Jesus Christ to
live His life through us is the only way to become a living sacrifice.
Accepting Christ’s sacrifice makes God our Father.
Growing up
we learned to deal with situations by watching our parents. We did as they did,
thought as they thought, and spoke as they spoke. The natural process of
maturity begins with imitation. The spiritual process of maturity also begins
with imitation. Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” We are the children
of God. We must be imitators of His actions until those actions become our
nature. In that way our life in Christ is a sacrifice. Our nature is being
sacrificed in order that we may be transformed. (Ephesians 5:1-2)
Love
requires that we do the right thing. The right thing is not always popular. The
right thing is not always comfortable. The right thing is not always the
easiest thing to do, but it is always right. God is calling us to holiness. God
always does the righteous thing and He expects the same holiness and
righteousness in our actions. (Philippians 2:14-18)
To live as
a sacrifice demands the ultimate level of service. Love, joy, peace and
patience are the fruit of a life lived to the glory of God. His desire is not
for offerings and sacrifices. They may become an element of pride in our lives.
God’s desire is our humble, loving, and righteous service. In biblical times it
was acceptable practice for a servant to choose to stay with a household
forever once their time of service was fulfilled. To make this public decision
there was a ritual they would go through. The ear of the servant would be
opened by nailing the servant to the doorpost of the house through the earlobe.
This piercing of the ear signified their choice to stay with the household
forever. God is looking for our conscious decision to serve Him. (Psalm 40:6)
In the Old
Testament a sacrifice was made to cover every type of wrong committed. The
process was quite demanding. As living sacrifices our obedience is what God is
after. He clearly outlines His expectations in the Bible. Following His plan,
our testimony should be offered freely. Our praise to God should be joyous, and
our service to Him should penetrate every avenue of our lives. Obedience to God
and His plan for us take precedence over the sacrifices we offer. Life is a
sacrifice. It is not a matter of convenience! It is a matter of obligation, but
fulfilling the obligation brings great joy and contentment. (Psalm 107:22)
Service
with thanksgiving is highly valued in the Kingdom of God. Our service is not
mindless repetition of physical functions as robots. It is the freewill
decision to obey God. We know both the costs and benefits. We choose to accept
the responsibility and are blessed. LOVE –– Life is a sacrifice. Obedience
is better than sacrifice. Victory is
guaranteed in Christ. Everybody
responds to love.
Every
Christian no doubt is familiar with 1 Samuel 15:22b. “… to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of
rams.” (KJV) Most often in our lives obedience is the result of punishment,
or at least the fear of punishment, but it should be the result of a love for
righteousness. The delight of parents is seeing their children respond to the
love they share. Punishment is a last resort. Which of us is not pleased seeing
our children respond to the sound of our voice and not the back of our hand?
God takes great pleasure in our obedience. He is more pleased with obedience
than He is with multiple sacrifices. (1 Samuel 15:22)
Knowing the
right action to take in the varied situations of life is the byproduct of a
relationship with God. Taking the appropriate action in these situations is the
mark of maturity. Our human relationships are cultivated and grow form the time
we invest. The love we share, and energy we pour into them fertilizes and
strengthens each relationship. Mature personal relationships with God are
established in the same way. We invest time in the study of His word. We share
love with God as well as fellowship with other believers, and we expend effort
in ministry to our communities. God is glorified and pleased by what we do. (Proverbs
21:3)
Finding
time to serve the Lord can be a challenge. We are a busy people living in an
on-the-go society. It is not uncommon to work a sixty-hour week and still not
finish the tasks facing us on the work front. Add to that the responsibilities
of home, family, and church; anyone would agree we are busy, but are we busy
doing the right things? (Romans 6:16)
Love always
acts appropriately. The service we offer, the ministry we involve ourselves
with, and the generosity we share, is proof of God’s hand at work in our lives.
The goal of everything we do is, or should be, that our lives bring glory to
God. Sometimes we forget why we serve, but scripture always offers us hope and
timely reminders. God is honored by our faithful obedience and service. Today
take time to examine your service and reflect upon the ways it has glorified
God. If you find yourself lacking in any area, simply seek forgiveness, get up
and begin to walk in the victory of a life of sacrifice. The Bible is true and
you can be faithful. (2 Corinthians 9:13)
Do the
words of the hymn, “Victory In Jesus” ring true in our lives? We have been
plunged to victory through His redeeming blood. God protects us. God provides
for us, and facing the storms of life we have assurance of victory through the
word of God. (Psalm 18:35)
According
to Psalm 18:35, God has bent down to help us become great. When will we take
God at His word and walk in the authority and victory He promises? God pushes
back our enemies just as he did for the children of Israel. Too often we trust
our own ability more than we do the Word of God. The strength we have and the
weapons we possess cannot and will not guarantee us victory, but the presence
of God in our lives does. The power of the Holy Spirit is the fullest
guarantee.
I am
trained as a teacher. I spent several years as a substitute. Every day was a
different group of students, different grade level, and different subject. As a
result of those experiences I can “wing it” in front of a classroom. Yet, God
requires our dependence upon Him –– not our own ability. (Psalm 44:3-7)
God is at
work in our lives. We are able to LOVE
because He shows us the way. We are victorious as long as we abide in the
shelter of His presence. LOVE — Life as a sacrifice. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Victory is guaranteed in Christ. Everybody responds to love. (Psalm
60:12)
As we
recognize what God has already done we build up faith to see Him do even
greater things in our lives. Shouts of joy can be heard in the homes of the
righteous. God has done mighty things in our lives. Share the greatness of God
with all who will listen. (Psalm 118:15)
LOVE –– Life is a sacrifice. Obedience
is better than sacrifice. Victory is
guaranteed in Christ. Everybody
responds to love. Christ was our example in love. He set aside His glory, became flesh, endured
the death on the cross, and opened the door for our relationship with God.
Everyone regardless of age, culture, education, or any other factor we can
recognize, and responds to love. Responding to love is natural.
Jesus
expressed the depth of His love in John 15:13. He identified us as friends and
said that we were worth dying for even before any of us existed. That should
have a profound effect on us. God in His holiness counted us in our sin worth
the price of salvation. (John 15:13)
Not that we
could in any way take the place of Christ, but do we count others worth the
cost of our time and energy? We simply point the way to God and attempt to
demonstrate by example the fullness of His love and forgiveness. (1John 4:10)
There is a
season of judgment coming; however, it is our responsibility to be witnesses while
there is time! We are witnesses of the love, faithfulness, and life-changing
message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (John 12:30-32)
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