A living Sacrifice – Romans 12: 1-21
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Marks of the True Christian
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.[e] 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;[f] do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.”21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
What does the Passage Say?
V. 1-2 Romans chapter 12:1-2 best depicts how to live spirit led life. We are to offer ourselves and lives, as a ‘living sacrifice,’ fixing our eyes onto God, instead of the world. We remember how in chapter 8, Paul talks about a life fixated on the world will lead us to death.
Eugene Peterson describes the way of offering our life, as a ‘living sacrifice,’ in an easy way. “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to the level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you” (v. 1-2 The Message).
V. 3-8 The lifestyle of offering ourselves as a living sacrifice should continue in the gathering of believers. We should not be proud of what we have but humbly offer ourselves for the purpose of building God’s kingdom, to create unity and harmony.
V. 9-21 How to love one another. As Paul urges the followers to live according to grace, he lays down some ways to love each other, for the sake of harmony. Please read Paul’s direction of love, and pray that God will make this way of living possible in our lives.
What does this mean to us?
As I offer myself as a ‘living sacrifice’ to our Lord, I always struggle with one word: Love. I say that I love my Lord. I say that I love his people. However, I always wonder if I love both of them. By any chance, is the love of myself the motivation of the love I say I have?
I love how the Message translates v. 9. “Love from he center of who you are; don’t fake it.”
In the center of our life, I should have Jesus sitting on the throne. If I took that place, it is hard for to the love others but rather fake it. Probably, that is the reason we see the continuous struggle of good and evil fighting inside us. The good of Jesus reigning in our lives versus me continuing to strive for control.
Lord, how can my love become sincere. I confess that I can’t do it by myself. I ask your Holy Spirit fill me us and transform me daily. Receive me as a living sacrifice. Walk with me today. In Christ Name, Amen.
What are your thoughts?
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