Living 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

Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King,

The preceding 11 chapters of Paul's letter to the Romans is full of the amazing mercies God has given us. Awash in these mercies, we are urged to completely surrender the totality of our lives as if we were an animal offering placed on God's altar for sacrifice. All of us—my body, my life, my will—is to be a living sacrifice to you, Lord. But the problem with a living sacrifice is that they frequently crawl off the altar!

Offering my body as a living sacrifice means that I recognize I get only one body in this lifetime. If I am giving it to the Lord, then I need to steward it well. If I don't take care of my body, I'm offering a blemished sacrifice.

Offering my life as a living sacrifice means that all of me belongs to you—every waking moment. My seconds,  minutes, hours, and days are in service to you, my King. When I give you scant leftovers of my life, I'm not really sacrificing anything at all.

Offering my will as a living sacrifice means that I place myself on the altar and I choose to stay there. That's surrender. When discomfort, pain, and adversity comes, I choose to remain on your altar rather than crawl away to protect myself. Remaining on the altar of sacrifice is my true and proper worship. Remaining on the altar of sacrifice is where my flesh and my rebellious will get burned up. And the rising smoke from burnt flesh is a pleasing aroma to you.

Gracious Lord Jesus, once again today I choose to stay on the altar of sacrifice, offering my body, my life, and my will to You as my act of true and proper worship. As I stay surrendered, would You burn up all that is in me that stands in the way of my life being holy and pleasing to You? May my life then be a life of worship to You.

— In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen!

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