Friday, March 30: Romans 12- So what should I do?.

Romans chapter 12 may be the single most practical chapter in the Bible answering the question, 'So what should I do now that I am a Christ follower?'

After explaining the Gospel in detail in chapters 1-11 Paul begins an exposition of how the Gospel informs our living. If you want the 'so what of' Christianity here it is.

Verse one drew me in. Often I find myself lingering on verse 1 & 2 but today only verse 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. I found myself pondering it systematically.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy… in view of everything Paul has taught about the Gospel… Understanding all God has done for you, here is how you should respond…

Offer… our life as believers is an offering, a free will offering to the Lord. We live this way not out of compulsion or threat of punishment but out of love, love for God. So we willingly offer…

Our bodies… the whole of ourselves. Heart, mind, soul, strength are all bound up in our bodies…

Living sacrifice, holy and pleasing… the imagery is stark and compelling. Sacrifices were killed and laid on an altar but in our case we are a living sacrifice. Blood is still coursing through our veins; we are living sacrifices. Holy (righteous) and pleasing to God because as Paul has taught us we are righteous because of Christ's gift to us. I also suspect that holy is to be understood as 'wholly' as well… we offer all of ourselves… as in our whole body.

To God… our offering is to God who has done all we need for salvation for us in Christ.

This is your true and proper worship… offering ourselves to God is worship. Worship isn't just Sunday at 10am, it is every day as we give ourselves wholly, holy to the Lord.

Such a rich chapter and this is just the first sentence. From this BIG picture description Paul moves to some facets of how we can and should live this out practically as we live our lives in Jesus' name.

Oh, God, I can never repay You for what You have given me in Christ Jesus, my Lord. But just because I can't ever repay You doesn't mean I shouldn't live for You hour by hour. So I offer You my today… I pray it is a holy and pleasing sacrifice to You. Through the name of my Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen.