This week's lecture at Bible Study was on sacrifice--Romans 12:1-2. I was kinda bored with it at first, not really seeing anything "inspiring" until I attended and started to pick up on a few things--good comments from discussion and then in the lecture. It turned out to be a challenge to me personally.
First, "therefore" -- as a result of God's love (service to us) in mercy, and as a result of his purposes and predestination of us to himself--and the future promise of Jewish and Gentile unity,
we are called to be living sacrifices. We all usually learn this in give up all of your self, all of your will, your life and time to God. This is true--but I picked up a deeper meaning from the study. Sacrifice can be defined as "the giving up for a greater purpose." Romans 12:1-2 call us to give up ourselves for God's greater purpose. To be a living sacrifice, we must dedicate ourselves to service to God (love) because he FIRST loved us before we did him--(hmmm, God pre-established his relationship to us in love--"foreknow")
Love is service. Living sacrifice is living in service to God--letting him be my Master. This is love. (Matt 6:24, Luke 14:26, Rom 9:13)
(if only I were better at loving. Me, serving others...hehehe. Not so good at that...)
Something I also drew a deeper meaning from was the thought of "renewing of our minds", you know--prayer and study, communion with God and fellowship. and then it clicked--God is the one renewing my mind THRU these things. I'm not renewing my mind, I'm just giving it to God to renew. There's also this focus of the "ing" It doesn't say renewed, it says renewING. Offering of myself as a living sacrifice is ongoing, and meant to be happening all the time--as I am beING made perfect by God as I work out my salvation with fear and trembling. This doesn't mean I'm justified in that I still cling to my selfly humanly way, but it means that I'm not perfect but am being made perfect. Don't beat myself up, but keep giving myself up in the process of change. (rom 12, phil 2:12)
I liked this saying in the lesson: "God won't be crushed or devastated if we don't love him the same, but he expects it and desires it.---Is my love for God growing. How am I showing it?" "What have I given to God's service? What have I held back for me?"
Offer your life. God will take and renew.
Be not conformed to this world: don't believe as the world belives, and lives as the majority lives--for Christians really are a minority in the world. The world is SELF-SERVING (self-loving), temporal. Things of the world aren't always bad--but are they really a part of God-serving? Be a stranger to the ways of the world--but don't separate yourself from the world lest you become prideful and arrogant. (refs 1 peter, Rom 10-11)
Finally, God's will mentioned at the end of verse 2. What is God's will? It's mentioned oftened--and mentioned often in respect to living a righteous life in service to God, service of being used in his will and purpose coming to completion. If we try to live righteously, God will (is) transforming (changing completely our appearance and self) us to the likeness of Christ--reflecting Christ on us.
Love and obey. that is being a living sacrifice.
and such a challenge when I consider my failings. But God considers not my failings but what he is doing with me. He doesn't see my failings (well, in his omniscience he did when Christ died). He doesn't love me less--and maybe he's disappointed, but my failings aren't going to end the world. (Gosh I hope not :-) But God does expect us to live righteously.
Posted by Anna at March 22, 2007 10:00 PM | TrackBack