“Brothers and sisters, God
has shown you his mercy. So I am asking you to offer up your bodies to him
while you are still alive. Your bodies are a holy sacrifice that is pleasing to
God. When you offer your bodies to God, you are worshiping him in the right
way. 2 Don’t live the way this world lives. Let your way of thinking be
completely changed. Then you will be able to test what God wants for you. And
you will agree that what he wants is right. His plan is good and pleasing and
perfect.”
-Romans 12:1-2 (New International Reader’s Version)
St. Paul in his
exhortation to the Christians in Rome pleaded
that according to God’s mercies they should offer their bodies, dedicate
their entire human faculties as living
sacrifice. The significance of this statement is surpassing. We know that the
sacrifices offered by the Jewish priests would require the slaying of the
animal sacrifice. The animal sacrifice dies.
In contrast the Apostle says that
the believers should offer sacrifice, as well,
by presenting their bodies. The
difference is that their physical bodies and the entirety of their personality,
would be living sacrifice. Their bodies as living sacrifice would be devoted, consecrated, and pleasing to God.
The kind of
living sacrifice spoken of by St. Paul is when we bring ourselves before God to
worship Him. To present ourselves before God, to serve Him as a people set
apart and sanctified for the purpose of
spiritual service.
The great Apostle
continues by saying that believers should not be shaped or fashioned by this
world or the ways of this world. They should not think the way the world thinks,
instead, let their minds be changed and renewed in a new way of thinking. A
person having a renewed mind is no longer worldly. His mind is transformed by God’s
grace. He sees differently, his desire
is to follow spiritual direction, which,
in the eyes of the world may seem foolish or senseless.
The Apostle seems to imply
that a man who has not been renewed or transformed in his way of thinking is
carnal, so he may not be able to discern what is the good, and acceptable
perfect will of God. Therefore, he may not be able to present himself as a
living sacrifice.
No comments:
Post a Comment