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When I say the word “sacrifice,” what comes to your mind? Some words I associate with “sacrifice” are relinquishing, giving away, losing. Not exactly words to warm our hearts, are they? At least, not our human hearts, which on their own are not prone to want to sacrifice anything.
The first two verses of Romans 12 are about sacrifice:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).
There’s that word: sacrifice. Have you ever wondered exactly what it means to give your body as a living sacrifice? It conjures up visions of burning at the stake, being attacked by lions, and other similarly distasteful events.
Then, when I think that my life is full of activity and schedules and commitments, I wonder how am I supposed to do all this and sacrifice at the same time?
Well, it’s good to note that it is to be a living sacrifice. This is not a sacrifice to take our lives away from us, but one that requires us to keep on living. But what does it mean to be a living sacrifice?
A dictionary definition of sacrifice says: The surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher claim. I think this definition comes close to what Paul had in mind. A living sacrifice would require surrender of something we all prize—our bodies—for something that has a higher purpose—worshiping the God of all creation, who has given us this life to begin with.
But the question becomes: How do we live day in and day out as a living sacrifice to God? How do we offer our bodies as living sacrifices?