“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1 NIV
The expression “living sacrifice” is set against the backdrop of the Old Testament sacrifices. While the Old Testament worshiper offered an animal, the New Testament worshiper is to offer himself or herself. Just as the people of Israel presented their animal sacrifices to the priests, we are to hand over our bodies to God. Out of celebration for what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, we are to give ourselves to Him. When Paul uses the term “body”, he is implying the whole person, or the physical means whereby the whole person is expressed. A “living sacrifice” sounds like an oxymoron. A living sacrifice is more difficult to give than a dead sacrifice. A living sacrifice means something to us. It has intrinsic value. Dead sacrifices have no value. They don’t mean anything to us. There were two “living sacrifices” recorded in the Bible. These two examples give us a clue as to what it means to offer a living sacrifice. Both were acts of worship. The first was Isaac. He willingly put himself on the altar and would have died in obedience to God’s will. Isaac “died” just the same – he died to self and willingly yielded himself to God’s will. The second was Jesus. He was the perfect “living sacrifice” because he actually died as a sacrifice, in obedience to God’s will. “What does it mean to be a living sacrifice?”, asked a woman of her pastor. Holding out a blank sheet of paper, the pastor replied, “It is to sign your name at the bottom of this blank sheet and let God fill it in as He wills.”
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord Jesus, we offer our lives as a living sacrifice to You.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Out of celebration for what You have done for us, LORD, through Your one and only Son, Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves to You as a living sacrifice. AMEN
I.B.R.A. Readings
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
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