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Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Romans 12:1, LSB

Paul’s words of sacrifice may be difficult for some to comprehend or understand. The reality of our lives in Christ is that we are not meant to hold anything back from Him. As our Lord and Savior, He gave fully of Himself for us so we may know salvation. It is His grace and mercy under which we can stand in hope. The reality of this extends far longer than the revelation of Christ as He entered creation, but it was God’s desire from the beginning. In the garden, with the deception of our first parents, Adam and Eve, our hearts were distracted from God. Instead of avoiding evil, we became fearful of God and ran from His footsteps. Through our Lord’s birth and sacrifice for us, we have been given a new beginning, and He desires to restore us to that full relationship with our Lord, the Father. Sadly, we are still plagued by our idols. Though their forms have changed, our devotion has not throughout the centuries. Paul was calling all believers back to the Lord and to the realization that we are not meant to give of ourselves to anything that does not glorify Him. Our worship is not just when we join one another at a weekly assembly but in every other aspect of our lives. It is not an either…or decision, but a both…and living which weighs the tension of our day-to-day living with our focus on God. It is in this we are called to sacrifice ourselves upon the altar of our Lord and let go of all that robs us of Christ’s joy that we may live in and shine out our Lord’s peace.

Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.