1Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. 2Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
3For I say through the grace that was given me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith. 4For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another, 6having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us: if prophecy, let’s prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; 7or service, let’s give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching; 8or he who exhorts, to his exhorting; he who gives, let him do it with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good. 10In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate to one another; in honor prefer one another, 11not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, 12rejoicing in hope, enduring in troubles, continuing steadfastly in prayer, 13contributing to the needs of the saints, and given to hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don’t curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. 16Be of the same mind one toward another. Don’t set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don’t be wise in your own conceits. 17Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men. 18If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men. 19Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
A Living Sacrifice
A Living Sacrifice
I beseechyou therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 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.
When Jesus spoke about taking up our cross and following Him, He was talking about us dying to self and finding our identity in Him. When we lay ourselves and our agenda aside, we are presenting ourselves as a sacrifice to the Lord. It is living, and it is holy. It is living because there is no physical death during the process. It is holy because it is you laying yourself at His feet to be set apart for His service. Paul says that it is the reasonable thing to do. And then, as a benefit of that sacrifice of self, we will find that we take on the form of Jesus more and more. We become shaped like Him rather than shaped like the world. Paul says this happens when we don’t conform to the world and its thinking, but we let our minds be transformed into something much more beneficial to our souls. We take on the mind of Christ. “16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he should instruct him?” But we have Christ’s mind.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)
One of my associate pastors is fond of saying, “It seems like whenever we lay ourselves on the altar before the Lord, it isn’t long until we’re trying to crawl back down from there and do things on our own.” Let me clarify some of what we lay on that altar. Many of us bring great hurts, harms, habits, and hangups from our past. Many of us have had things done to us that shouldn’t have been. They were wrong. We have every right to be upset, to carry animus in our hearts, and to hold a grudge against others. Part of what we must lay on that altar as a sacrifice is our right to be offended and to feel wronged. When we put that on the altar, we are saying, “God, I put my rights and my desires to get even at your disposal. They are no longer mine.” That is part of presenting yourself as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto God.
Reader, go ahead and do it. Whisper a prayer and say, “Lord, use me today. I am yours and yours alone.” Ask God to give you a check in your spirit when you are tempted by the bait the world offers. Ask Him to take your thoughts and transform them by renewing your mind in a way only God can. When we do this, we become saturated with the things of God. Perhaps in the smallest of ways, our minds begin to see the world around us from God’s perspective. That annoying person no longer gets under our skin. You now see them as a “work in progress”. That’s how God sees them. We know that the problem is no longer an impossibility, but a possibility to be touched by the hand of God. There is a battle for your mind. Lay yourself down before Him today, and ask Him to renew your mind. Peace will come with that submission. Do it today and be refreshed in the Lord.
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