“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.” Romans 12:1

          There is so much in this one verse for deeper meditation. Just about the time you think you have given ample consideration to one portion you realize oh, there is so much more in this portion. 

          We are called by God, through Paul, “…to present your bodies…” To present our bodies is an intentional action, an offering.  Present (to offer, to give) and present (a gift), though pronounced differently are related.  If I present (offer/gift) my body – isn’t that like giving a gift?

          “… a living sacrifice…” sounds like an oxymoron. Doesn’t sacrifice require death? If not physical death then at least dying to self forgoing what I want for another person’s benefit. To be a living sacrifice requires dying to self while yet living.              

         “  …present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God…” Isn’t there a balance between “come as you are” and “presenting your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God?” We cannot clean ourselves up enough to be a worthy gift to God.  “Who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” (Rom 11:35)  When you think about it, everything is God’s – by presenting ourselves back to God – we are giving back to Him what is His already.

            When my husband was a small boy, a few weeks before Christmas he would start gathering different things that belonged to each family member which he wrapped and put under the tree from him on Christmas morning.  His brothers and sisters were probably annoyed and not-so-gracious but I would imagine his parents appreciated his heart and desire to give to those he loved even if it was their hammer and hot pad they had been looking for for a few weeks.            We chuckle at the picture of giving someone something that already belongs to them but isn’t that what we are doing when we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice?  We already belong to God but He wants us to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing” to Himself.  It models a heart and desire to give to the ONE we love. 

          Lord, please show me how to live this out today.

Blessings, Diane

Diane Hunt is part of the Development and Addiction Recovery teams at America’s Keswick.  In addition to being a Biblical Counselor, she is a Women’s speaker for retreats, conferences and events.  She is a regular writer for Victory Call and one of the authors of Crossing the Jordan Bible Study. She has been married to her husband John over 28 years.  She has 2 adult children and 3 grandchildren and 3 adult step-children with 7 grandchildren making 10 in all.  She delights reading and teaching, but mostly laughing at the funny things her grandchildren say and do.