A Living Sacrifice

“ 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. 12:1

Recently, I started memorizing Romans 12. As I began working on the first verse, this phrase caught my attention: “…present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God….”

While I am living on this earth, God wants me to serve Him with all that I am and with all that I have. When I daily come before my Lord and spend time with Him, I am able to resist the flesh and to be used of my Savior. At first thought, giving up my life as a sacrifice sounds painful and unpleasant. Why would l want to sacrifice myself for some future unknown service that God will bring to me? Yet, when I give myself to God, I will be able to experience more joy and more fulfillment than I ever could have done by living for myself.

Although God wants me to lay my life on the altar, He will not leave me empty-handed. He promises blessings in return. When I deny myself by giving up my desires and what I think are “my rights” for Christ’s sake, Jesus will give me joy, honor from His Father, and the opportunity to serve Him! The opportunity to serve the King of Kings! No other God is like our God. He is mighty, strong, kind, compassionate, wise, loving, our judge, our physician, and He is even our friend! What other god can be all of those—and more?

Dying to myself may seem hard or painful at the moment, but as soon as I offer up my life as a living sacrifice to my God, I will experience joy and a host of blessings. I will never regret my decision.