Thoughts on Romans 12; A Living Sacrifice

I shared a quote a couple weeks ago that I had recently heard; "I never asked God to make me a servant -not in the literal sense, anyway. I was afraid he would actually do it." (Quote shared by Elisabeth Elliot in her book, "The Music of His Promises".)

The lady who shared this thought with Mrs Elliot had come to the realization that she had been holding back her life from the Lord. She had said that she wanted to serve Him, but she only wanted to follow through on those words as far as they were easy for her.  She wanted to dictate how she served Him and what sacrifices she made for Him. But she had come to see that when Christ said that worship to Him was to make her life a "living sacrifice" to Him, that included the areas she wanted to hold back.

The sheep, lambs, doves and oxen offered as sacrifices in Old Testament times gave all when they were placed on the altar. They gave their very life in a foreshadowing picture of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus for our behalf. And we are called to give our lives for our Savior. Not on the altar at the hand of a knife, but in the little moments, decisions, and temptations of the day.

When we've sat down with a book, and a little one needs help getting a toy down from the top shelf. When we want to spend our day in a certain way and then our plans gets changed by circumstances. When we're tired but the Lord brings another task into our path. Those are the moments that the Lord is asking for a sacrifice from us as an act of worship and thanks to Him. Such a small sacrifice compared to that which He gave for us, and yet so impossible to do on our own! But nothing is impossible with the Mercies of God. What a privilege to be, by His blood, a living sacrifice to God :)!