Saturday, September 3, 2016

"REASONABLE SERVICE"

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world.....
                                                                                Romans 12:2

WHEN PAUL WROTE to the Romans, he spoke of sacrifice--- something that both Jews and Gentiles understand clearly through the reader were already familiar with sacrifices, Paul inttoduces a new and radical idea: Present our bodies as living sacrifices.
      Your body--not a dead hunk of meat purchased in the market is what he says should be given to God. Surprisingly, the Bible say a great deal the human body. But what does it mean to present your body as a living sacrifice?
The problem with living sacrifice is that they keep crawling off the altar, so whatever offering you make has to be done every day. Daily you must yield control of your life to Him who has redeemed you-- control over what your eye beholds, what you think about, what your hands touch, where your feet take you.
     God made all the parts of your body, and He pronounced them good. Our reasonable response to what God has done, according to Paul, is an act of will. Your body is God's gift to you, and giving it back to Him is the highest firm of worship and the greatest possible sacrifice. Why is this difficult for us?
    Sacrifice placed on altars were consumed by fire. Living sacrifices, in the same ways, sometimes feel the consuming fire that purifies abd conforms them to His image. Sadly, some of these living sacrifice prefers to crawl backs into their caves of darkness and lust.
    Does God ask too much? Or do we simply give too little? God's great mercies deserve our reasonable service.
                           

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