"I beseech you therefore, brethren, that by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2
What do we understand by our salvation? We know that Jesus came to save us from our sins, and now that we are forgiven we have the promise of eternal life. But does it end there? It certainly starts there, but I believe it definitely does not end there.
I believe that Jesus came not just to save us from our sins, but to save us from our lives. He came to save us from a way of life that is worldly, futile and meaningless. He came to save us from a way of life that is totally apart and separate from the life that He has created us for. The "good and acceptable and perfect will of God." In His time on earth Jesus did not just preach about the repentance of sins and forgiveness. If you read the Gospels carefully, you will see that He constantly challenged the people, and His disciples, to live lives in a remarkably different way from the rest of the world. To live a transformed life.
What is the mark of a transformed life? "Do not be conformed to the world..." There are many things that the world seeks after, but the disciples of Christ do not seek after them. The values of the world are not the values of the disciples of Christ. If we profess to be Christians but still find ourselves overly concerned or even obsessed with money, fame, glory or pleasure, then something must be wrong. If we find that our lives are somehow unchanged by the presence of God, then something is wrong. If we find that we can still at the convenient times chuck away our Christianity and go about our sinful ways unflinchingly, then something is wrong. Our whole lives must be transformed, no corner must be left unswept, no stone must be left unturned.
Of course this is not easy. It is the hardest thing. But do not worry, because whatever God calls us to do, He always provides all the strength to accomplish. Pray, pray earnestly and passionately this day that God, and God alone will transform your life. For He is the only one who can; not even ourselves, throwing in all the devotion and passion that we have, can. "He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5.
Do you feel that it is too extreme for you? Too drastic? Too much of a change, and that you cannot handle it? No one ever said that following Christ was easy; in fact He promised that it was going to be hard. But read the above verse- "...which is your reasonable service"; it clearly says that even this, even the offering up of our whole lives as a sacrifice, is a reasonable service. It is not an unreasonable demand by God; it is a very rational, reasonable response to the love of God. To the immensity of what God has done for us. Need I say more?
And do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2
What do we understand by our salvation? We know that Jesus came to save us from our sins, and now that we are forgiven we have the promise of eternal life. But does it end there? It certainly starts there, but I believe it definitely does not end there.
I believe that Jesus came not just to save us from our sins, but to save us from our lives. He came to save us from a way of life that is worldly, futile and meaningless. He came to save us from a way of life that is totally apart and separate from the life that He has created us for. The "good and acceptable and perfect will of God." In His time on earth Jesus did not just preach about the repentance of sins and forgiveness. If you read the Gospels carefully, you will see that He constantly challenged the people, and His disciples, to live lives in a remarkably different way from the rest of the world. To live a transformed life.
What is the mark of a transformed life? "Do not be conformed to the world..." There are many things that the world seeks after, but the disciples of Christ do not seek after them. The values of the world are not the values of the disciples of Christ. If we profess to be Christians but still find ourselves overly concerned or even obsessed with money, fame, glory or pleasure, then something must be wrong. If we find that our lives are somehow unchanged by the presence of God, then something is wrong. If we find that we can still at the convenient times chuck away our Christianity and go about our sinful ways unflinchingly, then something is wrong. Our whole lives must be transformed, no corner must be left unswept, no stone must be left unturned.
Of course this is not easy. It is the hardest thing. But do not worry, because whatever God calls us to do, He always provides all the strength to accomplish. Pray, pray earnestly and passionately this day that God, and God alone will transform your life. For He is the only one who can; not even ourselves, throwing in all the devotion and passion that we have, can. "He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5.
Do you feel that it is too extreme for you? Too drastic? Too much of a change, and that you cannot handle it? No one ever said that following Christ was easy; in fact He promised that it was going to be hard. But read the above verse- "...which is your reasonable service"; it clearly says that even this, even the offering up of our whole lives as a sacrifice, is a reasonable service. It is not an unreasonable demand by God; it is a very rational, reasonable response to the love of God. To the immensity of what God has done for us. Need I say more?
