The problem with a living sacrifice

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The problem with a living sacrifice is that it tends to crawl off the altar. I’ve been guilty of crawling off the alter many times in my life. Perhaps you can relate to this.

Jesus said “… “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23 ESV). The Apostle Paul told the Galatian church that “… those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24 ESV). Paul also urged the church at Rome to present their bodies to God as a living sacrifice.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Romans 12:1 (NASB)
Perhaps, like me, you too have felt a bit hypocritical when singing the old hymn “I Surrender All” which goes like this:

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

Or the more recent Christian song “White flag” by Chris Tomlin that says, “We raise our white flag, we surrender all to you…”.

Both of these songs talk about total surrender to God’s will, which is certainly God’s will for our lives. If you can sing these songs without feeling at least a little bit hypocritical, then you're probably not listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The truth is that none of us can obey God’s will perfectly, and we won’t be perfect until we’re with the Lord in our eternal bodies. But while we’re in our earthly bodies, we need to listen for the promptings of the Holy Spirit that convict us to make changes in the way we live. Then we need to apply those changes in our lives.

The Holy Bible shines God’s light on the things in our lives that need to change, and the Holy Spirit prompts us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only (see James:1:22).

Today, I encourage you to reflect inwardly on your life. See what’s hiding just below the surface that you’d be embarrassed to be seen out in the open. Then make a commitment to change. Make a commitment to become more like Christ. Surrendering everything to Jesus is a big commitment but it’s also God’s will for your life.

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