Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1-2

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice- the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

This passage talks about presenting your body as a living sacrifice but what does that mean? 

Paul starts with telling us why we should do it. He says that because of all that God has done for us we need to give our bodies to God. The Lord lovingly created us and sent His only Son to die for us so we can be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity with Him. He is the one who has done so much for us. Every day He provides for us, He cares for us, He forgives us and gives us strength to get through each day. These are just a few of the things that the Lord does, and in return one of the things we do is give our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. Not out of obligation, but love. And because we know that by following the Lord in this way, staying in His will, we end up living our best lives.

So next we see the sacrifice, Paul calls it- a living and holy sacrifice- the kind he will find acceptable. We're not expected to lay on some altar. We sacrifice ourselves by living, but keeping ourselves holy. We set ourselves apart for the Lord and live our lives for Him. In that way we make ourselves an acceptable sacrifice. 

We're also told this is a way to worship the Lord. Just by living our lives in a way that pleases Him we worship Him. So how do we do that? Simple, don't copy the world. The behaviors and customs of this world are in direct defiance of the Lord. That's why we're told to live our lives differently. It's not only about living differently, but thinking differently. By changing our thoughts, it changes our words and our actions. Every time.

Finally as we worship the Lord in these ways we learn His will for us, which is good and pleasing and perfect. We know that His will is for us to have the best, so as we learn to follow Him our lives will end up better. Every single time.