St. Paul said, “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1, NASB).
Presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice means offering all of ourselves to God, particularly our actions, deeds, and behavior. Our daily lives are to be given fully to him.
When we make sacrifices to God, we tend to want to just give him part of our lives. To continue the body analogy, we want to just give him a finger or a toe, maybe even an arm or a leg, but not our whole bodies. And even if we say we give ourselves totally to God and we crawl up on that altar to be sacrificed, we tend to want to crawl off again.
One family decided that they needed to get to know their neighbors better. So, they invited several of them over for dinner. After they were all seated, the dad asked his small son if he would like to say a prayer to start the meal. “Sure, Dad.” came the quick response. He added, “Is it okay if I pray the prayer that I heard Mommy pray this afternoon?”
“That would be fine, son,” replied the dad.
The little boy prayed the prayer he had heard his mom pray as she labored in the kitchen preparing the meal, “Good Lord, why did I invite all these people over for dinner?”
Sometimes, we have great intentions, but living up to them can be difficult. We sing “I Surrender All,” but what we would sing if we were honest might be “I Surrender Some.” We sing “Take My Life and Let it Be,” when we want to sing, “Take my Life and Let Me Be.” Loudly we proclaim, “When the Saints Go Marching In,” but “When the Saints Go Sneaking In” might be more appropriate. Humbly we sing “Fill My Cup, Lord,” but we would be satisfied with “Fill My Spoon, Lord.” Boldly we intone, “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me,” when what we really mean is “Pillow of Ages, Fluffed for Me.”
While making a sacrifice involves self-denial, it is primarily an act of worship. Notice that St. Paul said, “present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship (Ro. 12:1).
I hope that I am better at giving my worship than practicing some kind of monastic self-denial. Worship is the greatest sacrifice of all. Worship is taking your eyes off your own problems, your own concerns and worries, and your self-interest to take the time and effort to tell God how much you love him. You love him because he first loved you and offered for you the sacrifice of his own Son. His body was given for your body. That is a pretty good trade.
Our service to God, our spiritual duty, is to worship him above all else. A living sacrifice has been made for you. His mercy has been extended to you. You are forgiven, cleansed of all that you regret. His love, his mercy, and his grace fill you with the power to worship. God’s glory, his greatness, his love, and his sacrifice request a response from you. Do you choose to worship, to love him as you have been loved?
Our faith response of worship gives us the power to escape our enslavement to a self-oriented life. When we orient our lives around our own needs and desires, we inevitably fall into sin and wickedness. We become slaves to the very things that destroy our lives.
Worship changes that orientation. It changes our mental outlook from serving self to serving God. St. Paul said, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2, NASB).
Worship becomes a sea-change for us, a monumental shift in attitude, focus, and orientation. Our habits change. We decide not to conform to our culture of tainted values and live for the ways of God. When we do that, we grow into God’s plan for us and our lives glorify our Savior, Jesus.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
