Today's Scripture
True to Yourself Romans 12:1-8
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.
RJ's Devotion
What does the passage say?
V.1-2 Offer your lives to the Lord, for the purpose of God. Do not loose your focus to the world.
V. 3 Do not find your significance in what you think you are doing for God. We are to be faithful to what God calls us to do, and find significance in the purpose.
V. 4-8 We find our true significance in the body. It doesn’t work the other way around.
What does this passage mean to me/us?
We are to live according to God’s will. However, there are many distractions pulling us away from seeing the truth of God’s will. Therefore, Paul exhorts the followers to offer their lives to God, as a ‘living sacrifice.’ The Message Bible says, “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.”
When we clearly see the will of GOd, we will see that God doesn’t require our individual significance. God wants us to be part of God’s body, and find our purpose and joy in the body. Not because what we can offer, but to see what God offers to us through the community of people living for God’s will. That is when our lives become a true sacrifice to our Lord.
Prayer
Lord, help us to see where you are calling us to serve. As one body, in Christ, help us to serve the world.
In Christ Name, AMEN.
Click to subscribe to our Daily Devotion.
You will receive a devotion in your inbox every morning.