Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1–2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We are all sinners separated from a holy God. But God loves us and had mercy on us. And despite our sin, He has forgiven us. The words “living sacrifice” in the reference scripture tends to remind us the Old Testament offerings were dead. If a sacrifice were alive, I think it would have a tendency to squirm off the altar. Maybe we tend to get a little squirmy on the altar, too.

In the same way, sometimes we give something to God, only to take it back later. Have you ever done that? I have. I have prayed about things and committed them to God. And then, only a short time later, I start worrying about them again.

The Bible tells us that we are to present our bodies to God—and that means everything, including our minds as well. It means that we need to fill our minds with God’s truth and not the twisted worldview of our culture. It means we need to think about godly things more.

My brother, Michael, is here on ministry business. Truth in Love World Ministries, from whence Truth in the Morning was spawned, is donating musical equipment to his music ministry, White Horse. I love visiting with Michael, he and I are the last of our family of origin and that bond is important to both of us. However, it is the common bond of our Lord God that is what makes our time together so wonderful. We can talk about our struggles, our ministry work, our extended families, everything and it is all covered by our mutual commitment to serving God as a living sacrifice. On paper, neither he nor I look impressive in a world view; we know this and neither of us care. Our conversations, regardless of topic, are filled with praise to God. It lifts me up to be around him. We encourage one another, giving God all the glory. The word ‘faith’ is spoken often.

If as ‘a living sacrifice’ we are to give God everything, including our minds, words and actions then being around others that share this mentality and lifestyle is vital. If you hang around people that speak coarsely, godly words won’t fill your conversations. We tend to emulate those around us too easily. For instance, we just passed St. Patrick’s Day, I have Irish roots. There were shows on TV about St Paddy’s day and every time I heard someone speaking with an Irish accent, the thoughts in my head sounded Irish! No joke, the thoughts in my head became Irish. I cannot watch Fiddler on the Roof without taking on the heavy accent of Tevye. Like it or not, we are swayed by those around us.

I am blessed to have many godly people in my world and I need them. Walking the narrow path of a committed Christian isn’t the most popular or common choice around. I have lost friends along the way because they chose another direction. Visiting with Michael has been a booster shot, a divine appointment. Reach out to all nations and tongues to those that need to know Jesus as His emissary but choose your inner circle of companions from those committed to be a living sacrifice. You speak the same spiritual language.