In Romans 12: 1 Paul encourages us to "offer our bodies as living sacrifices." The entire verse says: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." (NIV) Quite honestly I just could not wrap my head around exactly what this meant. I always thought of the Old Testament rules and regs when the word sacrifice came to mind. This passage of scripture is in the New Testament - the part of the Bible that is more specifically directed to the here and now. And the words were a bit troubling. What was God expecting of me in this regard? So, because I am an educator, I decided to educate myself. Whenever I don't quite understand a portion of scripture, the first thing I do is ask the Holy Spirit to open and clear my mind so I can understand what I am reading with no preconceived ideas. This is so important.
Next, I reread the scripture, sometimes several times. I also might read the same passage in other versions of the Bible. And of course looking in commentaries or online can prove to be very helpful.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines sacrifice as "to forfeit something for something else considered of greater value" "to sell or give away at a loss". This word was easy to understand. As moms, we know sacrifice! Am I right? If there is only one donut hole left in the box, who get's it? Not the mom, for sure! So the word sacrifice I got. I have given away a last donut hole or two in my life. Where I was having trouble was pairing the words living and sacrifice with offering my body. The kids at church are going to be hearing the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These men who loved and served God had refused to bow down to a gold statue of the King and remained true to the one true God. Because of this they were put in a fiery furnace. (Daniel 3) Now that is what I call giving your body as a living sacrifice. How exactly could I do that? How does God want me to do this?
The New Living Translation offered some help by wording the verse just a little differently. "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He had 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." These words speak of commitment. They speak of surrender. These words screamed to me - present yourself to God wholly, completely, to use as He sees fit - EVERY DAY you are alive! Why??? because of all He has done for me. I am a living being with a live body, I need to give myself to God daily - a living sacrifice. Giving God the last donut hole daily as it were. Living my life in such a way that everything I do, everything I say, everything I think is an act of worship. None of it is for me, it is all for Him out of love for Him. This pleases Him. John W. Ritenbaugh said "Worship is our response to God, and real worship is the offering of our everyday life to Him. Loyal devotion given to please God in every labor of life is the most satisfying and acceptable response we can give God."
Sacrifice is an action. Setting aside my own agenda, wants and needs and living for His agenda, what He wants, what He needs from me. It's deciding to stay true to God, no matter what everyone else does. It's letting God use me everyday. It's more than that even...it's asking to be used everyday. It's being committed to God as His servant to do His will on earth while I am alive. It's a daily choice. It's a daily ask.
Will it be easy? Not likely. Will I fail at times? Most definitely! The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had a happy ending though - God was with them and saved them from the fiery furnace. Can I count on God to help me as I try to offer my self as a living sacrifice daily? You bet!!! And that is very reassuring.
