We must
present ourselves to God as if we were offering Him the sacrifice of
ourselves. We are no stranger to
sacrifice, are we? Surely there have been things in life you've had to
sacrifice for one reason or another, yes? Some make sacrifices in their lives
of such seeming great importance they can never stop thinking about it- through
regret. Some start the mind crippling cycle of - if only I hadn't had to give
that up- do you know where I'd be today? My life would have been so much better
if I hadn't had to sacrifice that, for that reason. Obviously people fill in
the blanks for their own personal sacrifices.
Some
sacrifice their time, giving their services to others. Some sacrifice their
possessions, giving what is theirs to another at a loss to themselves.
Sacrifice
is what? According to the dictionary sacrifice can mean- giving up something
valued, the loss involved in giving up something valued, offering to God to
appease God. Now, I'm not sure I have to agree with the last one when we are
speaking of God, our Heavenly Father. Yes, sacrifices were needed- ritual
animal sacrifices were made all the time before our Savior sacrificed Himself.
The animal sacrifices were made to symbolize the need for the death of an
innocent for the sins of the people. A wrong was committed and in order to
right that wrong there needed to be an atonement made, a sacrifice given in
order to preserve the eternal life of the one offering the sacrifice. When we
accept the sacrifice of our Savior, we accept that He suffered and died in our
place so that we could be atoned, and become one with God again.
We need to
become LIVING sacrifices. Christ Jesus died so we could become a living
sacrifice offering God our LIVES while we live, to do with AS HE WILLS. And if some make the mistake of believing it
is not a sacrifice it truly is because you are giving up a worldly life. You
are giving up the self-serving that we are so incredibly prone towards.
God will
give us all we need to be a living sacrifice for Him. The spirit that God gives
us will be one that counts everything loss, but serving God. The power of God,
the power of God's love, the power to be whole in our minds for God, this is
what we are given. We choose to give up
self-serving, and lay ourselves on the altar of God's will. Please, Lord, let us live to this end- to be
wholly YOURS.
All
through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! Always!
2Ti
1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind.
Rom
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.
Rom
12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.
Rom
12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is
among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to
think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of
faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment