This Day in History: 0000-06-17

June 17 – Romans 12:1-2 

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. Don’t copy the behaviors and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 

Have we considered all that God has done for us lately? He created this beautiful world, and He formed each and every one of us. He did this because He wanted to have a relationship with us. Then, when our sin irreparably separated us from His goodness, He sacrificed Himself to make a way back.  He left Heaven and came into this world as a baby, confining Himself to a lifetime as a human man. He gave up His divine privilege in order to walk this earth as we do. He lived a sinless life, in spite of being tempted in every way we are, and then willingly offered that life as payment for a debt we could never hope to pay. He died in our place, taking every sin upon Himself. He was beaten and bruised and left desolate and alone, separated from His Father in death. Then, He rose again, conquering sin and death, and went to His Father in order to prepare an eternal home for us. He promised to come again one day, and take us all to be with Him in that place forever. In the meantime, He gave us His Word and His Own Holy Spirit, to guide us through life, and make sure we’re never alone. He didn’t just send His Spirit to hang around, though. He united Himself to us by choosing to indwell these weak and sinful vessels! 

In light of all that, shouldn’t we be quick to sacrificially offer our bodies back to Him? Shouldn’t we be eager to live a life of worship, in awe of who He is and what He’s done? When we look into the light of His love, there should be no draw in the behaviors and customs of this depraved world.  There is nothing but trouble there. As His children, we should be able to see that plainly.  We should WANT to live a life separated from this world.  A life devoted to Him!

He has promised to transform us, if we’ll only let Him.  He has promised to make us into something new. To rearrange the way we think, so we’ll know His will for our lives. And friends, His will is good.  It’s pleasing.  It’s perfect! So, let’s worship Him today, and offer our bodies as a Holy and living sacrifice.  He has promised that when we do, He will be pleased. As children of the Lord God almighty, what more could we ask than to be pleasing to our Father?