Retreat Day 3


Romans 12:1-8
1 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.
2 Do not be conformed to this world,
3 but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function,
5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another
6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy,  in proportion to our faith;
7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;
8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

 This is an oft studied passage that is filled with direction and substance for the faithful. The discussion over this verse was personal and intense. I want to share just a few of insights that God brought to the foreground for me during this time in His Word.

 One of the problem phrases for many in the very first verse of this study is "living sacrifice". What is that about? It sounds a little ominous and like I have to surrender everything to God, which is more than a little scary. But let's think about that verse in light of the Old Testament. The practice of Temple sacrifice involved bringing an animal either from home or one you bought along the way to be slaughtered in an act of atonement for sin. An animal is brought and left to be killed and most likely burned. The person bringing the sacrifice gets to walk away - go back home. The task has been accomplished. But now we are Post-Resurrection believers. The final sacrifice has been made by Jesus. What does it mean then to come before God as a living sacrifice? It means we come to God exactly as we are and then we live for Him. Our blood is not shed. Nor do we get to walk away from Him. Instead, we walk with Him, going forward from the place where we are right now. It is an exciting way to live.

 For me, two other phrases take on extra meaning. First, I am riveted by the concept of "the measure of faith" I have been given. My faith is pretty simple and child-like. It has a real face-value attached to it. If God tells me something in the Word, I believe it. If I don't understand something, that's okay and I make no apologies for that lack. Apparently my "measure" isn't that high yet. Beside, there will always be things I don't understand because God is God and I am not.

 Finally, I am captivated by "if teaching . . . teach". That rings all of my bells for teaching is my passion and in the last couple of years I have really relaxed into that role. It has been exciting to learn along with my fellow believers as together we plumb the depths of God's love through His Word. Also, and this is truly just a side note - in the English translations of this passage, the pronoun "he" is liberally used. That does not appear in the Greek. The passage is gender neutral.

 God has been so very faithful for the last 36 hours. Time to go home and back to real life. But is sure is great to get away and just be with God!

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