And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Romans 12:1 NLT
We hold our time in Sunday morning services in sacredness. For many of us, it is the only time in the week when we share in worship. We enter into God's presence with praise and thanks. We sing, pray, and listen to God's word proclaimed. But there's another thing we may need to think of; we offer our gifts. Yes, we bring our financial donations, but more importantly, we bring ourselves.
The living and holy sacrifice which Paul is writing is our lives. Like Aaron offered gifts to God in the Tabernacle, we proffer ourselves to God. The day we accept Christ as our Savior is the first day of our offering. Jesus, who offered himself for our sin, takes our imperfection and sordidness and makes us pure. That's a pretty good exchange; it's like exchanging trash for gold!
We are also filled with the Holy Spirit that leads us into a new and better life. We bring sweeter sacrifices that are pleasing to God. Our offerings now include "joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23)–fruits of the Spirit. Yes, we still slip up, we're not yet perfect, we need forgiveness, but we are growing into Christ’s likeness.
Giving of our living bodies implies action–we are to be doers. The fruit of the Spirit we have received is to be evidenced in our lives. Others should look at our lives and see God there; this, too, is part of our offering.
When we think of ourselves as the offering instead of our monetary gifts, our perception shifts from a once-a-week, Sunday morning activity to every moment of every day. We should always offer ourselves as acceptable sacrifices, whether standing in line at Dunkin Donuts, going about our jobs, or eating meals.
God, we thank you for the day we accepted Jesus as our Lord, and you filled us with the Holy Spirit. May we each day present ourselves as living and holy sacrifices that are acceptable to you, living our lives so others may see you in us. When we fail, forgive us, and help us move forward to perfection. May each of our offerings be sweeter than the day before. Amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Tim
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