ROMANS 12:1

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.

TO PONDER

I think we can all recognise sacrifice when we see it. Often we find it inspiring - an elite athlete sacrifices a weekend sleep in to be up early for training or skips a night out with friends to stick to their diet and rest regime before a big competition. A parent eats the burnt toast so that their children can have the perfectly browned slice of bread. Defence Force families sacrifice stability and certainty so that others may live in the kind of peace and security they rarely experience themselves.

The reality is, we are really only prepared to sacrifice for the things we care about or value. So the question then that Paul is asking the Christians in Rome is this - how does your new life in Christ show the value you place on him?

Do you, like the athlete training for an event, sacrifice your time for things that bring you closer to God or do you let other things distract you? Do you, like the parent and the toast, take the worse option so that someone else might feel loved and accepted? Do you, like the defence force personnel, put your life on hold so that others may come to know the peace and hope that you have in Jesus?

That's what being a living sacrifice is all about, That's what taking up your cross and following Jesus means because that is exactly what Jesus has done for you.

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, Thank you for the way that you have sacrificed yourself for me. Please help me to find the courage and strength to allow my life to become a living sacrifice to you so that others might also come to know all that you have done for them. Amen

Today's devotion written y Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle