Sacrificing for God is always worth it. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.
In Romans 12:1, Paul asks the Roman church members to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (KJV).
Did you catch that? Living sacrifice. We are to live as sacrifices. In order to live as a sacrifice, we must first know what that word means. A quick online search reveals that a sacrifice is “an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy” (Google).
Are you with me so far? We are called to give up something valued for the sake of something more important – or rather, Someone more important: Jesus.
Since we are living sacrifices, I think it’s safe to say that what we are giving up for Jesus is our lives. However, it’s slightly more complicated than that. We are not talking about giving up our lives as in dying for Jesus (although that may happen). We are talking about living for Him. Every day. According to scripture, we are to deny ourselves (Luke 9:23), crucify our flesh (Galatians 5:24), and take up our crosses to follow our Savior (Matthew 10:38).
I have learned that this is easier said than done. Simply stated, my flesh doesn’t want to die. It wants to thrive in this world. It wants to squelch the Holy Spirit and keep me in bondage to sin. Temptations arise daily, whispering sweet nothings in my ear to try to convince me to abandon commitment to my Lord. It’s just a little lust, it says. That’s only a little white lie, it whispers. You’re not thinking about this boy too much, it insists. You’re too tired; you can read the Bible some other time, it reassures.
The enemy can be persistent at times, but God has reminded me faithfully that I am His. Jesus paid the price for my sins; I am no longer a slave to my flesh.
Last night I was reading in Number 18, and God tells Aaron that he and his sons must bear and remove the iniquity of the sanctuary (the sins the Israelites brought in). This chapter showed me that in order for sin to be removed, someone, a sacrifice, must bear and remove it.
Jesus was our sacrifice. He removed our sin. He said it is finished, and it is.
In other words, He has paid the price for our spiritual freedom from sin. You and I don’t have to be slaves to addiction or lust – or any other sin. We are free in Christ. Stop walking with your head down because you messed up. Jesus already shed His blood while bearing your sin, so when God sees you, He is looking through Jesus’s blood. Stand up in joy and thankfulness for God’s mercy and grace and forgiveness and love! Go share the Good News! We are free from sin! Praise God.
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” -Romans 6:11
Precious Jesus, thank You for being our ultimate atonement and sacrifice so that we may be living sacrifices for You. I pray that we would be heavenly minded, and we would share the greatness of Your love with people we come in contact with in our everyday lives. It is such a blessing to live for You. I love You so much, and I pray that You would help me love You more. In Jesus’s name.
