Have you ever sacrificed anything? What comes to mind when you read that question? Today, we think of “sacrifice” in terms of giving something up in consideration of something else. So, we might be willing to make a “sacrifice” in our love for pizza so that we might lose five pounds. Or, we might be willing to make a “sacrifice” in the area of our time by helping a cause or attending church. The idea is that our love for pizza is our own and that we have the right to eat all the pizza we want. Therefore, eating less pizza is a “sacrifice” we make in order to look better. By the same token, we view time as our own. We believe that we have the right to use it however we want. Therefore, volunteering for a cause instead of watching a ballgame or surfing the internet is a “sacrifice” we make because we are motivated to help the cause. This idea of sacrifice is not really what the passage at the top of the page is urging us toward. 

    Romans 12 urges us to present our bodies (literally – our whole selves) as living and holy sacrifices. The action in the verse is to present, not to sacrifice. There, sacrifice is a noun that refers to our whole selves. In Old Testament times, the sacrifice was something of value which was presented to the Lord. The owner of the animal, grain, or wine gave it up along with its value to be used to please the Lord. The sacrifice had been the property of a person and became the property of God to be used completely under His direction.

    So, the verse above is calling us to give ourselves to God; to give up ownership of ourselves to Him. That means we let Him use us completely as He directs. This is the personal sacrifice of Christianity. Our Savior Himself made this sacrifice. He did not hold Himself back from God’s purpose, even when that purpose meant that He must die on the cross (Philippians 2:8). So, responding to Christ’s call to follow means we follow His example by giving our whole selves for God’s purpose. 

    This is where we tend to get it wrong. We think coming to God is about giving up things. Many people will not come to God because they are afraid of giving up things. Some may come to God when they see more value in the things of God than the things of the world. This is backward thinking. Coming to God is about giving our whole selves to Him, like we are. When we do this, He will transform us by directing us away from vices and toward virtues like peace and contentment. We can get the process in the correct order by giving ourselves to God first.

    Where are you in this process? Have you presented your whole self to the Lord for His purposes? Or, are you holding out ownership of yourself and “sacrificing” some things for God? If you are stuck in the latter, you are probably exhausted, and you may even be ready to give up. Go ahead, give yourself up to Him as a living and holy sacrifice. He will use you in ways you can’t even imagine!