Reading: Romans 12:1-2
“I urge you…to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship (Romans 12:1).” Years ago, I remember a sermon in which the
preacher pointed out, “The only problem with a ‘Living’ Sacrifice is, it can
climb down off the altar!”
I picture a story written centuries earlier than the time of
the Romans. God was testing Abraham by
directing him to take his only son, Isaac, to Mt Moriah and sacrifice him as a
burnt offering [see Genesis 22: 1-14]. In obedience, Abraham began the journey,
taking with him Isaac, a few other young men, and all the supplies necessary
for a sacrifice. Once on the mountain, he built an altar and placed his son
upon it.
Now, from Isaac’s perspective, I really wouldn’t want to
remain in that position! I’d most likely be yelling my head off, trying to free
myself from the rope that held me to the wood. No such action by Isaac is
recorded. Why didn’t he react? It’s a curious
thing I have pondered more than once. Today, I sense some insight. I think Isaac
trusted his father to do the right thing, just as Abraham trusted his heavenly
Father.
Is it not so with us, figuratively speaking? Could Paul also
been thinking of Isaac as a living sacrifice when he wrote these words to
Christians in Rome? We have been set apart by God to live sacrificial lives. As
living sacrifices, we chose to stay on the altar, just as Isaac did, trusting our
Father to use us up for His good purposes. This means we are called to live
differently from others. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world,
but be a new and different person, with a fresh newness in all you do and
think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy
you (Romans 12:2, TLB).”
Father, I admit that far too many
times I want to (and actually do) crawl off the altar and do my own thing. I forget
whose I am and that You have set me apart for so much more than I am willing to
settle for. Help me to rest on Your altar, willing to be used by You in the
lives of others, which very often requires true sacrifice. Amen.
