God's Life PlanSample

DAY FOUR

The Third “S”- Sacrifice

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 ESV

As we continue on the path to discovering God’s plan for our life, and we have surrendered and we have begun to seek Him in His Word, in prayer, and in other believers, we come to the 3rd step…sacrifice.

Now, I realize sacrifice sounds like surrender, but it’s more. Surrender is an act of the will, a mental and heart decision, and it is what the Bible describes as “counting the cost.” Sacrifice is paying the cost. Now, I realize Jesus paid the ultimate cost for our souls and our salvation with His blood shed on the cross. But if we want to live God’s plan for our lives, it will cost us, too.

The Romans 12:1-2 passage referenced here has been a life verse for me. It says so much. We read in the Old Testament about people bringing sacrifices before the Lord…doves, sheep, oxen…the shedding of living blood for sins, to provide purity, to provide forgiveness. And then, we discover that Jesus was the final blood sacrifice, once and for all, the perfect Lamb of God, sacrificed for you and me who believe. Paul says one thing remains…for us to offer ourselves on the altar as living sacrifices. He says this is an act of worship which is holy and acceptable to God.

Paul goes on to help us understand what this looks like practically. As we offer ourselves as sacrifices to God, He transforms and renews our minds. We begin to see the world and its illusions for what they are. We begin to think differently. And a big part of our sacrifice is not to conform to the world and its ways.

An example of this is described in Ephesians 4:17-19 as Paul addresses the new followers of Christ about a new way of life:

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” Ephesians 4:17-19 ESV

Sadly, many people who believe in Christ and even seek Him, fall short of sacrifice. The cost seems too steep. It might cost money, it might cost friendships, it might cost reputation, it might cost comfort, it might cost pleasures. God might ask me to do something I don’t want to do.

But for those who are willing to be a sacrifice, Paul tells us they will find the will of God for their lives. They will find God’s plan for their life. We get the choice. We can still try to have our cake and eat it too, with one foot in the world and one foot in God’s Kingdom…but Paul says this is futility, and as we referenced on day one, Solomon called that kind of life meaningless. Which path sounds better to you?