Sacrifice?

“Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.” Romans 12:1 TPT

Sacrifice. The definition is, “the act of giving something valued for the sake of something else regarded as mor important or worthy. When you think of your Christian faith, would you categorize it by sacrifice?

I confess that I have realized that I have made my life way too comfortable. I may do a good job of attending Church most Sundays when I can and helping on the worship team and occasionally leading a Bible study, but I still find this verse to be convicting. I even spend some time in prayer and reading everyday, but I still don’t believe my life is a living sacrifice. I can hear Inigo Montoya from the Prince’s Bride saying, “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.”

Not that this is a point system, or anything like it, but I do believe we were made to be set apart and living sacrifices for Him. And if I’m honest, I feel more like I just do the “easy” things for God, maybe taking a couple hours out of a Sunday or 30 minutes a day meditating on His word and prayng. When it comes to sacrificing my time to help someone out who may be hard to love, or sacrificing my status or pride by sharing my faith with others, or sacrificing my money to give to those in need, I feel like I’ve got some work to do.

When I think of sacrifice, I think of the disciples who literally risked their lives daily to preach the good news. I think of the community of believers in Acts who sold all their possessions to give to those who were in need, and I think of Jesus Christ who gave his very life, enduring the cross so that we might live through Him.

Maybe it’s time for us to rethink what it means to be a “living sacrifice.” Spend some time with the Lord and ask Him to show you what it means to be a living sacrifice. Take a minute to listen to what he says to you. Maybe take a day to meditate on sacrifice as you go about your day today.