Living with Eternity in View - Part Five
Present Your Body as a Living Sacrifice
2 Corinthians 5 (KJ2000)
14 For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
15 And that he died for all, that they who live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again.
You do not belong to yourself. You belong to God. You are called the redeemed of the Lord because you were purchased with the blood of Jesus. You are now obliged not to live for yourself but for Him. Because you belong to God, your body belongs to God, and one day you will give Him an account of how you used or abused it.
Romans 12 (KJ2000)
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12 (Bible in Basic English)
1 For this reason I make request to you, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you will give your bodies as a living offering, holy, pleasing to God, which is the worship it is right for you to give him.
A living sacrifice! That sounds like a contradiction in terms, doesn’t it? Most sacrifices in the Bible were the dead type.
An example of someone who was a living sacrifice was the Prophet Samuel. His mother Hannah had been barren, and in her desperation to have a child she proposed a deal to God: Give me a male child and I’ll let him serve you! (Notice that this isn’t an acceptable thing to do in the New Testament – today we’re to simply ask for whatever we need in the Name of Jesus.)
1 Samuel 1 (KJ2000)
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give unto your handmaid a male child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
Samuel stayed alive, unlike the animals brought to be sacrificed. He remained alive while they ended up dead. But just like the animals brought to be sacrificed were no longer under the control or use of their owners, Samuel was no longer under the control and direction of his parents. He belonged to the service of God now and became an assistant to the High Priest of Israel, a man called Eli. Previously, Eli had no right to ask Samuel to run errands or attend to anything. If he wanted Samuel to run any errands, he would have to ask Hannah first. But as soon as Samuel became a living sacrifice, the roles were reversed. If Hannah wanted Samuel to run an errand or to even visit him (she seemed to see him only once a year!), she would have to ask Eli for permission.
By inspiration of the Spirit of God, Paul asks us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. Just like Samuel was set apart for the service of God, our bodies are to be set apart primarily for the service of God. Whatever way we want to use our bodies even for our benefit must be with His permission.
1 Corinthians 6 (KJ2000)
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Your body isn’t yours. It belongs to God. He expects you to use it, like everything else you own, in His service. You should not prioritise your pleasure, your desires, or your own needs over and above the service of the Kingdom of God.
I once heard about a preacher who declined an invitation to minister in a particular town because “There’s no hotel there good enough to host me”. I’ve often been intrigued by this position. I often compare and contrast it with that of many missionaries who serve for years in very uncomfortable conditions, not appreciated and not celebrated in this world. If you’re a missionary reading this, I exhort you to finish your assignment in this world with joy. The Body of Christ may not appreciate your sacrifice, but the One Who sent you will reward you richly.
In the service of God, we should be willing to go wherever He says to go, stay wherever He says to stay and do whatever He says to do. Only then would we have His approval in this world and the next.
Continue in grace!