A Living Sacrifice unto God (Rom 12:1).

We need to present our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God. Our bodies need to be 'living' but at the same time, they need to be 'sacrificing' as well. How do you reconcile with this seemingly apparent 'contradiction'?. I think the best way to understand this is by turning our minds to the 'burning bush' where God spoke to Moses (Ex 3:1-3); 'Moses' was awe- struck when he saw the 'bush' was burning but not being 'consumed'. Even a kid can say when somebody asks him 'what happens when you lit a bush on fire or a plant for that matter?'; he says without any hesitation that 'it will be burnt!!'. Here, to our astonishment, the 'bush' is burning but it is not 'burnt'. 'What!! is it burning properly?' somebody yells. Moses would have thought 'The one who set fire to it was none other than God himself, so surely it was burning'. Do we see the analogy here; 'burning' represents the sacrificial part. The object of sacrifice always needs to experience the pain and suffering. Turn your minds for a minute on that 'Lamb' which had to go though the painful experience of being killed before the alter in the Old Testament. For the object of 'sacrifice'; death is what assured; it is certain. It will die in a minute or so after it was slaughtered. But the 'bush' wasn't being consumed.

I think, this is what it means when the Apostle said ' present your bodies a living sacrifice unto God..'. We need to be dead to sin but live for God (Rom 6:5 to 11). We formerly used our bodies as a medium though which all the sinful activity took place. Our bodies were the objects of death. And we were slaves of sin and Satan (Eph 2:1 to 3). But now, having been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, we no longer present our bodies to sin or Satan but to God alone. A living sacrifice? What sacrifice can we offer when the ultimate 'sacrifice' was already paid, that is why all that we do is termed as 'our reasonable service'(KJV) or 'our spiritual worship' (RSV). Do you live for 'Christ' from now on?

Presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice..(Rom 12:1)

What did the Apostle Paul mean when he said "present your bodies a living sacrifice ....unto God"?; as I was grappling to understand what it exactly means; my mind some how turned to the sacrifices of the old testament. The pictures of the sacrifice surely should have been very graphic. When Adam and Eve crossed the God given boundaries by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree, they stood naked and guilty which means God had every right to do whatever he wanted do with them as they brought disharmony into the God's world. Here we understand that by crossing the God given borders, we not only bring disharmony into our world (our homes, families..etc) but also bring devastation on us. So 'sin' generates multiple consequences. When Adam and Eve stood naked and guilty; God, instead of wiping them off; he chose to provide a way by giving them skin-coats. Surely God must have killed an animal to cover the naked bodies of Adam and Eve. And they must have been the witnessed to the animal killing. If they were to be covered; the killing should have taken place. Here the animal was killed for somebody else's trespass. Surely the couple would have understood the seriousness of their act against God's will (read Genesis ch 3); a part of God's creation was sacrificed. God decided to give the humans a second chance instead of imposing penalty directly on them. This is where we see God as a God of Grace and Mercy.

The very meaning of 'sacrifice' tells that something or someone dies on somebody's behalf or something valuble is given up in order that one may live or be happy. What is this 'living sacrifice' then? When we offer sacrifice, that will die. But when we offer ourselves, we must die too. But the Apostle is asking us to be 'living sacrifices'. How can you answer this 'apparent contradiction'? ..I shall try to glean some more thoughts in my next post, God willing, only with His help.