1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has 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. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Extreme Faith
Starting this Thursday night, we are launching a new series at Bikers’ Church called Extreme Faith. Today’s passage is the basis for the final week of that series. Let me give you a sneak peak on what we’ll be talking about in that message. (For those who are unable to be there “live”, you can watch the videos in HD quality here.)
Paul is calling people to trust God with every ounce of their being. Actually, it’s hard not to see this verse in the context of extreme faith. Paul is suggesting that we offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Now, I’m sure this goes without saying, but notice he includes the word living. Paul is not talking here about killing ourselves or someone else. Yes, people take this passage out of context. But he’s not talking about that.
What I believe Paul is talking about here is the idea that we willingly sacrifice our will, desires, passions and wants to God. If you were to look up the word sacrifice in the dictionary, you would find that it includes the idea of surrendering something as an offering to God. The online dictionary I use goes on to define sacrifice as an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.
Paul goes on to challenge us to not copy the behaviour of those who do not follow Christ. In other words, rather than trying to “fit in” to the people around you, why not choose to fully surrender your life to God and see what happens. And yet, putting it the way I did in that last sentence doesn’t seem to do Paul’s words justice. While fully surrender may mean the same thing as sacrifice, Paul’s choice of word seems to imply that it wont be easy to give everything over to God. It will be difficult. It will cost.
And yet, look at the end result of living a life of extreme faith: “Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Wow. Imagine looking at your life and feeling like it is good, pleasing, and perfect. Few people I know would describe their life in those terms. Paul suggests that we could all experience life that way if we are just willing to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.
Just before I offer today’s prayer, I’d like to ask a favour. Today is New Year’s Day. A good day to start something fresh. Something like offering yourself a living sacrifice. It’s also a good day to invite someone else to live life that way. Would you take a minute and share the Oil Change with at least once person? Either forward this email or click on one of the “share” buttons listed below this post on the website. I’m amazed at the number of people who connect via this devotional (I’m aware of at least five Countries represented), but I believe that even more could utilize it. So, take a minute and pass it along.
My prayer: Lord, I sit here on the first day of a new year. A time when we celebrate fresh starts. And, I choose to start this year by offering myself a living sacrifice. I give myself to you today. Fully. Completely. In every way. My life is yours. My passions, my desires, my will. I surrender it all to you. Amen.
Until tomorrow.
