Living Sacrifice

Living Sacrifice

Bible: Romans 12:1-8

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 (V.1).

Reading

When Steve left home to join the navy, he knew it was a big decision. He understood that once he walked onto that naval base for basic training, he was giving up everything a teenager lives for. He was leaving behind his freedom, his guitars, his music and his girlfriend. He gave up the right to make his own choices and to do what he wanted to do. He said, in effect, “I am making myself a living sacrifice. I no longer do things for me; I do them for the service of my country.”

The sacrifice Steve and thousands of others make when they enter military service reminds me of what Paul taught in Romans 12:1. In that passage, he urged us “to present [our] bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God—this is your true and proper worship.” This means we are to give up our self-centred ways and surrender ourselves completely to God. We are to be “holy” in all we do, which means we’re to be set apart for God (1 PETER 1:16).

It wasn’t easy for Steve, who enjoyed his independence, to give it all up for the Navy. But he did it. And it isn’t easy for us to completely surrender our ways to God. How can you and I be a living sacrifice for God today?

CHRISTIANS ARE PEOPLE WHO NO LONGER BELONG TO THEMSELVES BUT TO JESUS.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries