Sacrifice devotional

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

When we think of sacrifice in our lives, we think, usually, of sacrificING–giving something up. Think of some sacrifices you’ve made. Maybe at various times you’ve, say, given up extra income to be at home with your children. Or you’ve given up a dream of being at home with your children because there are bills that need to be paid. Maybe you’ve gone without new clothes that you needed, vacations you’ve wanted, or dreams of things or accomplishments that you never had to start with. These are all examples of things that maturity demands that we must sometimes let go of, in order to gain something better, or more important. Sacrifice is just part of being a grown-up.

But what about presenting our bodies as living sacrifices? What does that mean and how do we do it? Let’s look to our example, Christ. Ephesians 5:2 says “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.” Chirst gave himself as a sacrifice for us. I think we can see why it is a “reasonable service” to give ourselves back to Him!

Sometimes we think that serving God means choosing what we think God needs done, and doing that. Picking out where we seem to be a “good fit” and stepping in there. And that is admirable, but not enough. We are instructed to feed and clothe the poor. But when we are told to present our bodies, our selves, as a sacrifice, what we want doesn’t always figure into it. Only God knows best where we are really needed and what will stretch and grow us for His purposes. And we won’t always like it.

Remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? He prayed, “…if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” Can’t you imagine the rationalization you could make in His place?”

“You know, I could REALLY be effective if I had more time HERE. I mean, what good can I do AWAY from my followers, compared to what I can do while I am HERE? And I think some of these Pharasees are JUST about to turn the corner!”

Christ, in His flesh, didn’t WANT to die on a cross! That is what makes it a sacrifice. It cost Him. It cost a LOT.

I Corintians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

We are not our own. We are bought with a price. Are we prepared to put our bodies, our spirits, everything we have and everything we are, on the alter in service to God? What about in areas that are not glamorous, areas that we don’t even want to THINK about giving to God? Those areas that we secretly hope God never calls on us to give to him. What if God called you to give Him control of your finances? How about your children? What if God called upon you to give your fertility to Him? Or your eating habits?

We mentioned sacrifices made out of maturity or duty, but what God often asks of us goes beyond duty and into the radical. Think of what He has asked of His followers from the beginning of time. Noah, really? Build a boat for 100 years in the middle of the desert? Abraham: put his one son, the one God promised him, on the alter as a sacrifice?

Here’s one of my favorites. Jeremiah 13:1-9 Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.

So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins. And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

Let me ask you a question. If God instructs you to buy a pair of underwear and hide it in a hole in a rock, will you do it?

Don’t even get me started on Ezekiel! Build a model of Jerusalem and “lay siege” against it? Lay on your left side for 390 days? Bake barley cakes over human dung?

When we give ourselves totally over to God, which is our reasonable service, things can get–messy. They get emotional, and dangerous and sometimes Christ becomes the only thing certain in your life. Which is kind of the point. When we sacrifice ourselves, it doesn’t just benefit others or the Kingdom of God. It benefits US. It’s how God grows us in holiness, which is what he promised His followers He’ll do. It’s what we signed on for.

What are we unprepared to lose? Let me remind us all of a sobering truth. Anything that we allow to stand between us and God is an idol. Anything you would take off the alter, anything that is off-limits, those are idols. God will strip us of our idols. He will tear away anything that keeps us from giving our hearts fully to Him. Anything that keeps us from completely trusting Him, He will prune. It does not produce good fruit and he will cut it off.

So: what should I be prepared to give up or lose when God uses me as an acceptable sacrifice?

money
privacy
control
comfort
time
peaceful existence
security
status
rights
relationships
reputation
dignity
future

It is no small commitment to serve the Almighty God of the Universe.

Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Daniel 3:28