ROMANS 12:1 YOUR BODY In my journey of examining the Gospel from God's own commentary, I came to the place where the theological unfolding of the Gospel message, now turns to the practical application of these holy truths - and God, through His chosen apostle, begins with me! I am one of those brethren Paul refers to. I cannot escape this fact. In no way can I excuse myself or say I am not included in this heart-felt appeal. This is not some weak-hearted suggestion. In my mind I see tear-filled eyes looking over the miles (and ages) at me. And this appeal is based on the highest possible motivation - the mercies of God! How could I ever ignore such beseeching! How could I ever relegate this to some "Bible Study" in the confines of a gathering of scholars or the privacy of one's own private chamber!
The "mercies of God" are obvious to me every day of my life! I have just been reminded in reading through Romans, that I have been "justified by grace" and made the "righteousness of God" in Christ. No longer some kind of free-lance person, but before God I am "in Christ," "accepted in the Beloved." I have been set apart by God's grace - not law, have been given the Holy Spirit who dwells within and adds to my feeble supplications His unlimited knowledge of every situation with the urgency of His loud voice and holy tears. Not only this but in God's eternal purpose, He has sovereignly elected this poor, weak person to share in His coming glory that is beyond description. Still further, there is nothing that will ever separate us from the love of God who is forever faithful to me. What motivation to respond to this heart-felt appeal.
To present one's body indicates that one yields all his capacities (which are God-given) freely to the use of another for purposes that up until now have not been used. The grace of God to me should not make this a comparison to anyone else's actions, but urges the consecration of my whole person to the Lord because of who He is. By voluntarily "signing up" for this privileged duty, I step into the freedom of service for God without the restraints of imposed slavery. A living sacrifice has yielded to the will of another voluntarily like Isaac yielded himself to Abraham when he was laid on the altar.
This changes an imposed service to an intelligent, spiritual, priestly service. This has nothing to do with forms or ceremonies. There are now in Christendom a lot of forms and formal services that are designed by men to make people feel religious. When an individual is motivated by the mercies of God to engage in spiritual service, this comes from an appreciative heart of one who loves the Lord and counts it a great blessing to be able in this way to serve God with the whole person - spirit, soul and body.
When giving a sacrifice one seeks to find the best he has to give. Then in an act of grateful privilege, what he has no longer lives To itself or any selfish pursuits, there is a much higher call. The living sacrifice has nothing more to give, he has presented all.
Behind this sacrifice there lies a motivation that is next to none. One considers all the mercies of God and what He in grace has done. This stirs not only the emotions, but the intelligent thoughts of the mind - And searches for all that he calls his own, presenting the best he can find.
Nothing that lies in his storehouse, or none of the investments made, Can rise to express the value and appreciation for the price Christ paid - That all of the mercies of God can be freely bestowed upon us. So the best one can give is himself, placing himself wholly into God's trust.
A living sacrifice is a treasure for that is the very best we have. Even at that it is small, compared to what the Father gave, When He gave His unique Son, and the Son of God gave Himself for me. How could I ever withhold what God asks, because of what He has made me to be.
"Father, I know I am no prize package. All I ever am and have and hope to be is because of Thy grace. So here I am again wanting to present myself, even though I did it once and for all time ling ago. I am not just sure how this works, but I know within me is the desire to present myself again to Thee today for whatever is ahead. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."