Paul wrote in the book of Romans, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom. 12:1–2).
God does not compel nor coerce you to present your body to Him as a living sacrifice, but he challenges you to. He begs you to do it, if you please, on the basis of His mercies. God's mercies: WOW! Awesome!
In the Bible, God allowed severe consequences to happen to those who refused to present their bodies as living sacrifices. First, He "gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity" to dishonor their bodies between themselves (Rom. 1:24). Thank God for His mercy that He did not give you over. Why did God give them over to their lusts? Because they did not honor God and they were not thankful to Him, even though they knew He existed (Rom. 1:19). That explains a lot of things going on today.
Second, God "gave them over to degrading passions" (1:26). Can you believe it? Pretty modern, huh? You could have been one of them! Be thankful for His mercy that you were not given over by God.
Third, God "gave them over to a depraved mind" (1:28). Be thankful for His mercies! You could have been in the same situation.
Maybe as a child, you became a Christian. You understood that the Lord Jesus suffered and died for your sins and rose so you could believe in Him and receive Him as your Savior and not be given over to depravity. If that describes you, be thankful, and on that basis, present your body to Him.
If you muddied your life with these degrading passions and were not saved until later, be thankful for His awesome mercy and that He did not completely "give you over" to those lusts. Doesn't that make sense? Your reasonable service is to "present your body a living and holy sacrifice" and live for God. I beseech you to do this right now in prayer.
Oh, dear people, God wants you informed and transformed you so you can have "life more abundantly" (John 10:10). He wants to bring out the best in and through you.
Prayer: Father, you are so full of goodness and mercy. May Your children, right now, present their bodies as living, holy and pure sacrifices to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Quote for the Day: "I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice." —Abraham Lincoln
