God's ImitatorsSample

Give God the best of you "In view of all we have just shared about God's compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to Him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you. Don't become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think" (Romans 12:1,2). If you've attended church, you've probably dropped a little bit of change into the basket as it goes by. We call that your offering. If you were a kid back in the days of Abraham or Joseph or Jesus, offerings were called sacrifices, and they were a whole lot messier. It almost always involved an animal and killing and blood. Finally, the whole animal was burned upon an altar. So I wouldn't blame you if hearing God call you a "living sacrifice" makes you a little squeamish. But it's also the truth. Because God loved you first, when He calls you a living sacrifice, He's saying, "I want your whole life." Your friends, TV, and music may be tempting you to climb off the altar to see what the world thinks is fun. God wants you to stop thinking the stuff the world offers is better than His plan. His mercy changes the way you think. Because of His love, we love Him. His will becomes our will. Being a living sacrifice means that God gets all of you. He gets the best of you.