Living Sacrifice

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1-2

For close to a year now, this verse has continued to spring up in my mind and weigh heavily upon my heart. I truly consider this passage another pivotal "life verse" for me; a "rhema" or "now" word in my life. Last night while meditating upon this verse, I was particularly drawn to the words "living sacrifice." What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? What does being a living sacrifice look like?

Obviously, something that is living is alive and not dead. It is alive, filled with life, active, breathing, changing. Sacrifice. What is that? According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, sacrifice is defined as:

1: an act of offering to a deity something precious; especially : the killing of a victim on an altar
2: something offered in sacrifice
3 a: destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else b: something given up or lost

So, Paul is telling me (and all believers of Christ) that we are to give our bodies as a sacrifice to God. The Lord Jesus became a living sacrifice in order to purchase our salvation, and now we are to become a living sacrifice in response to all He has done for us. This is the way I am reading this passage. I am picturing laying myself upon the alter of sacrifice and saying "Have your way in me, Lord. Have all of me, Lord. Let my life be hidden and crucified in you, so that you can live your life through me for the good of others and for your glory."

What am I giving up to follow the Lord Jesus? What does it cost me to live for Him, to know Him, to enjoy fellowship forever with the Father? Does the sacrifice consist of me trying to be a "nice" person, a "good" citizen, a "well-rounded" individual? Is the sacrifice that I go to church every Sunday and "do my duty" to God? Is the sacrifice that I give my tithe, that I do what is asked of me because I feel responsible to my fellow church members or that I fear what man thinks of me if I don't serve? Is this the kind of life Paul is speaking about when he tells us to be "living sacrifices?" Is he speaking of living a life with the goal of attaining personal comfort and individual security while paying our "homage" to our particular church or denomination?

I continue to be pressed with this thought -- that being a "living sacrifice" involves going beyond what we can do in our natural, fleshly man's power. It involves going far beyond mere confidence in the arm of the flesh. Living as a sacrifice pleasing unto God involves faith and confidence in God alone. It is living beyond one's means and saying, "I can't do this, Lord, but you can do it through me." It is saying, "At all cost, I will obey your will" and knowing that without His power and strength that you will utterly fail. It is accepting His plan for you, not your plan for you. It involves being so desperate for Him and so grateful to Him that you desire to do all of His Word more than any other thing on earth.

This kind of surrender is called our "reasonable service." In other words, this is the least we can do for God. This is the very least that He is worthy of. Let's think about this and examine our hearts today. Are we attaining to give the Father what is reasonable, our very lives? Does our faith and our walk with God cost us anything?