Skip to main content

Sacrifice

 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) 

One of the exercises in the book I’m looking through examines Romans 12. We began yesterday, but today we’ll take a step back and start at the beginning of the chapter. It’s a verse we all know. “Present ourselves a living sacrifice.” Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard it before. Kick all fun out the window and go about life as a martyr.

There’s a phrase that seems to be ignored: “in view of God’s mercy.” The Greek term for “mercy” is transliterated oiktirmon. It means “compassionate, experiencing deep pity (lamentation) as God has for people who look to Him for help in their difficult situations.”

The first, most easily viewed mercy is that of the Cross. Jesus’ death and resurrection not only provides us with salvation by the mercy of God, but it also provides us with evidence that even if our sacrifice results in death, He can raise us to life again.

But think a little more about what it means that God shows us mercy. It means that He doesn’t want to see us fail or be harmed. We sometimes wince when we see someone get hurt – and God may, too.

We may know some of this but that doesn’t mean we have enough of a sense of it to be motivated by it. But Paul tells us that it is because of His mercy that we should present ourselves a living sacrifice, not a dead one. Because of His mercy, we may sacrifice ourselves with thanksgiving and joy instead of reluctance and martyrdom.

This is a change of attitude, approach, and perspective I desperately need.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Gal 6:10)   “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.   By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)           Joshua grinned when he saw Rex standing by the door, studying something on the ground. "Hey, man! Are we ready to do this thing?"          Rex looked up. "Josh, I can't do it. We're still best buds, but I can't stand your fiancée."           I've met "Rex" many times. I've been Rex. Joshua (Jesus) loves the Church. He's not a fool. He knows the Church is far from perfect, but she is His chosen bride. The Rexes of this world, who think themselves His friend, turn away from her. "You don't need the Church to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ssssssubmmissssssionnn

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ . (Ephesians 5:21)             "Ssssssubmmisssssssionnn." Can't you just hear the serpent hissing this most horrible of words? If you listen to the serpent or the world, submission means groveling, allowing yourself to be abused, denying yourself your own humanity. Nothing could be worse than submission, could it?             Submission has never been a problem for me, as long as things are going the way I want them to. The rest of the time? Well, let's just say that while I don't know how to fight physically, I don't know how to not fight mentally. One of the fights I've been having with myself for years is about submission.             My first breakthrough took place on a trip to a bookstore. As I walked into the store, my thoughts were very clear. 1) I was goi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shark Fins, Triple Dog Dares, Heroes, Villains and Sidekicks

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)            There's a scene in Jaws in which someone sees a shark fin and starts a panic. As   all the swimmers scramble to shore, boats surround the fin, which falls over to reveal two kids. With several guns pointed at them, one of the kids points at the other. The message is clear: it was his idea. In Christmas Story, there's a scene in which one kid "triple dog dares" another to do something stupid. Since it's a triple dog dare, well, what choice does the boy have? There doesn't seem to be any end to the trouble that peer pressure can cause. ...
Post a Comment
Read more