Can the words of Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus still speak for God to his people today?
I urge you bretheren,
by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies
a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God...
Rom 12-1
That was enough for me to sit up and take notice. I felt that again God wanted me to hear this with not just my ears, but within my heart. I contemplated it all day Sunday, and I am still working through what it means to me to be living, and holy and offered to God.
The novel of England that I am reading, Sarum,
has plenty of sacrifices in it, druid, pagan; animal and human.
None of them end up living sacrifices.
They seem in large part anything but holy.
Sometime the druid priests would select criminals for execution.
Does God want me, my self, my body?
Hard to understand, but it is possible.
God owned me before I knew His name and now much moreso since I accepted His son as my Lord. My belonging to Him is a fact of creation and a result of yielding my will.
Why would the writer, Paul, tell believers to offer their bodies?
I readily admit that I don't know. yet I want to understand this.
Why not offer God our minds? Think holy thoughts, contemplate His greatness all day.
I think our minds are too easy to give and too easily deceived.
Where we live, daily, is in our bodies; in the pain and the pleasure, in the feast and the famine.
I want my living to be closer to the holy that God deserves from me.
I dedicate my arms and legs, my eyes and ears, my strength and weakness to the purpose of giving glory to the Father of all. It is what I am meant to do, and what I am designed to be.
I think.
foundation
- David Edward
- Big Bear Lake, California, United States
- I am a lover of God, and I am a lover of life. My three wonderful children help me be a better man, and I consider fatherhood my most important role. These kids have made my life meaningful and filled with beauty. Nothing compares to them or gets between us. My mom lived 91 years and as youngest I was privileged to make sure she was comfortable and safe in her own home, was never alone, had plenty of friends and family coming around. She knew, before she passed away, how much we kids appreciated all she did for us over the many years. I am the youngest of five. I have ADD and it makes me fun, or irritating, depending on who you ask. Most of all I am real, so this blog has fun aspects and then serious writings, too. You get both, for one click of the mouse.
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
9 comments:
David,
I wasn't going to comment here, but after pondering a bit, decided to give your post my thoughts....
What God has accomplished in the believer by His mercy,enables the believer to live a righteous life...
the body ....once an instrument of sin is offered now as a channel by which the righteousness of God is now manifested. "To surrender" or "to offer" or as used in your quote " to present" is not the best way to live; it is the ONLY way to live...Nothing else works....
the wisest moments will be those when you say YES to God and NO to self...You are a wise man to be listening with your heart.....
Bless you...Donna
Ok, I have to admit that where your words are leading is, to say the least, a bit scary David. I think what the passage means here is living your life as a testimony to his presence. By "living" his words.
"I urge you bretheren,
by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies
a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God...
Rom 12-1"
Sacrifice is not the key word in this passage; living is.
When you wonder about the mystery of yourself, look to Christ, who gives you the meaning of life. When you wonder what it means to be a mature person, look to Christ, who is the fulfillness of humanity. And when you wonder about your role in the future of the world look to Christ.
--Pope John Paul II
Meaning of life... Says it all, does it not?
My offer still stands. Hugsssssss
ty
ty
Hi David,
I urge you bretheren,
by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies
a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God..."
Rom 12-1
This is a beautiful passage. Obedience is the sacrifice. Obedience in what you do and don't do. It is through obedience to His Word that we are saved.
Jesus dwells in our hearts, in our bodies. It is His temple. To offer our bodies as a living sacrifice is to not give into the sin and temptations we face. Sacrifice those things, sacrifice the excess eating we are capable of doing, the drinking, the drugs, swearing, promiscuity - whatever it happens to be (not saying these things affect you, but just saying things in general), be obedient and make the temple, our bodies, a pure place for Him to live.
Don't think we wanna know,
...a living sacrifice may be taking care of what we're given as well as we can (assuming we know how). I really hope that doesn't mean no more whipped cream on the strawberries...
I'm personally against self-destruction, life sacrifices, (virgins n animals), and also never assume the Supreme Life Commander has a gender (don't use the word "His" n try not to use the over-used "G" either!).
I do tho- sacrifice by fasting every Sunday until after prayer-time. I'll also sacrifice my time whenever I notice some one who needs help I can give them, even if it makes me late. That's what I can do as a personal sacrifice, n it feels right.
I've also given away the shirt off my back a few times I shouldn't have, putting myself in a worse financial situation, but that too, felt correct at the time.
BTW- I believe our bodies already all belong to the Creator... without whom none would exist!
(*These are but very few of my thoughts n in no way should be construed as inclusive)
Well, at least somebody wants my body. ;-)
It is the holiness, the surrender that is so hard. Just today my husband was saying that he wants to make decisions on his own without praying becasue he knows what he wants and then he remembers - hey, God is the one to be asking, He knows everything!
Oh, yeah, Michele sent me!
Post a Comment