And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
– Romans 12:1“The problem with a living sacrifice is that it tends to crawl off the altar.” – source unknown
Hopefully the opening verse of Romans 12 is a recurring theme in your reading and study. It reminds us that worship is something we do, but rather worship is something we are. Years ago, Christian musician Chris Christian wrote lyrics which offer a physical posture to indicate a surrendered heart and will:
We lift our voices
We lift our hands
We lift our lives up to You
We are an offering1
I really try to eschew pithy illustrations and stories here at C201, but I always find this one most appropriate:
A chicken and a pig were discussing how they could do something for the farmer. Finally the chicken said, “He loves a good breakfast; why don’t we give him bacon and eggs?”
To this the pig replied, “That’s easy for you to say. All it demands of you is an offering, but for me it demands total sacrifice.” 2
Here are some things I think will help us remember what it means to live our lives as a living sacrifice. Each starts with the letter ‘s’ followed by a different vowel.
Sacrifice
If we are to judge it, the measure of a sacrifice is not the size of what is given, but the size of what is left over.
A sacrifice will cost us and it will be consumed. There is no taking back the investment of our energies, gifts or material possessions given up in the service and pleasing of God. The last distinction is important. In service we see tangible results. But God is sometimes pleased by our giving up of things. Ask yourself: How much cash would you put on the offering plate if, as it was in Old Testament times, what was giving was then burned? That’s what our Old Testament predecessors did with the best of their grain and animals.
Set-Apartness
If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
You have been set apart as holy to the LORD your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure. – Deuteronomy 14:2 NLT
He gave himself to rescue us from everything evil and to make our hearts pure. He wanted us to be his own people and to be eager to do right. – Titus 2:14 CEV
In a world that values conformity, no one wants to be the odd duck. Yet the book of Leviticus is essentially God wanting to insure that his people could maintain a distinct identity. It was all about showing yourself to be different.3
Sinlessness
Jerry Bridges has written,
Jesus said, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). We must honestly face the question, “Am I willing to give up a certain practice or habit that is keeping me from holiness?” It is at this point of commitment that most of us fail. We prefer to dally with sin, to try to play with it a little without getting too deeply involved. 4
Sovereignty
“There is a God. You are not Him,”
Many plans are in a person’s heart, but the LORD’s decree will prevail. – Proverbs 19:21 CSB
Jesus himself deferred to his Father on many occasions; providing us a reminder of who is in charge.
Surrender
When Abraham is asked to sacrifice is only son, we have the advantage that Abraham and Sarah didn’t; we know how the story ends. They did not, and yet Abraham is willing to do whatever it takes to obey God.5
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” – Genesis 22:2
Although we speak very different languages, two symbols are universal throughout the worldwide church. One is the word “Hallelujah” which I’m told is rendered the same in most languages. The other is lifted hands as a sign of surrender.
A writer at Charisma points out that our fingers, hands and arms are also most associated with human strength, power, creativity; both in a human sense and if we examine the Biblical record of God’s actions presented in a way we can best understand them. 6
2 This story is often used by leadership coaches as well. Here’s a longer version with the punchline contrasting contribution and commitment.
3 We looked at maintaining a distinct identity in this March, 2017 article.
4 We included more quotes from Jerry Bridges on this topic in this article.
5 This is excerpted from a fuller look at Abraham’s trip up the mountain with Isaac at this link.
6 See the full article about lifting hands at this link.
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