A Living Sacrifice

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 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. Romans 12: 1&2 (NKJV)

As I read those familiar verses in Romans this morning one of my favorite worship songs came to mind. Dwight Liles wrote “Take my life, a living sacrifice, knowing it’s the least that I can do. Make my life, a living sacrifice, Holy and acceptable to You.” 

So many times we sing from our heart, meaning every word of the song at the moment. Yet, when the music fades, and all is swept away, we bask for a moment – then move on with our lives. Our sacrifice is an hour or two, maybe even three on Sunday morning and maybe an hour a day through the week for the quiet time recommended by theological leaders. What in that sacrifice of time answers the pleading of Paul to the church at Rome?

As I examine my life, I have to look honestly at what I am willing to sacrifice or not.

Am I willing to be transformed by God, rather than conformed to what the world says is right? Am I willing to stand firm in what I believe without wavering to peer pressure. Yes, peer pressure even in our forties. But instead of coming from a fear of being laughed at, or rejected, I think it comes from a desire to think for ourselves.

A rite of passage as an adult is the responsibility to make our own decisions. So, although we want to serve God on some level, we allow ourselves to remain unclear about what that means. We are told by the media that we can have it all and we believe it. The separation of church and state becomes a separation of church and life. Sure, we hang out with Christians, and we attend church activities, put our children in Christian Schools and decorate our homes with assorted inspirational art. Everyone looking at our life from the outside would know that we are Evangelical Christians. Do they know it by our love? Or do they know it by our signage, the marketing hype that comes with the American Christian life? What would they see if they looked beyond the surface? Is our life a living sacrifice to God? Are we willing to lay down our desires to further the Kingdom? Are we teachable, from a biblical perspective? Do we reach outside our comfort zone selflessly? Or do we only extend that far as long as the zone of discomfort is within touching distance of our real life.

American Evangelicals are quick to jump on bandwagons against certain things; like the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage, and the sanctity of Christian-ease in the nation. But what about things that don’t draw so much attention to our Evangelical position?

What if people could see the inside of our hearts and homes? What does a life, laid down in sacrifice to God look like?

Examining the parts of our life that no one but God sees reveals our true willingness to present our lives as a sacrifice to the Lord. In the song I mention above, the first line says Take my life, a living sacrifice, KNOWING it’s the least that I can do. That line means so much to me, because all I can do is give God my life. I don’t have the power, on my own, to live a life of consecration to God. The second line, Make my life, a living sacrifice, Holy and acceptable to You, illustrates that it is only God who can make us holy, acceptable and right in His eyes. So, the sacrificed life, is a life that is willing to allow God to make us holy, as He is Holy.

Are the secret places of our life swept clean? Do we allow the discernment of the Holy Spirit to rule the choices we make ? Even the ones that no one will ever know about? Is our life proof of the power of God in our lives? Or do we try so hard to fit the mold the world calls good that we ignore the purifying power of Christ in our Christianity?

I would love to hear your thoughts on what it means to life a life sacrificed to Christ. I will give more of my thoughts in part two of this series.