Our "foundational" verse for this class is Romans 12:1-2. In the first verse, Paul challenges us to be a "living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God." I think most of us have an idea about the implications of sacrificing ourselves for God; giving up our own desires for God's will, seeking His kingdom first, working for his glory. But what are the implications of BEING a sacrifice? What I'm asking is, what was the importance of a sacrifice to people in biblical times? What were the characteristics of a sacrifice? Is there a connection between this idea and the idea expressed in I Corinthians 6:19-20? I'd like to see your comments and try to kick off this weeks lesson as we ponder this idea. What are these verses requiring of us?
The concept that I have in my mind about being a living sacrifice and my body being the temple of God is a little different. I look at my body as a container (house) that started out being filled with all of my stuff, good and bad, essentials and just stuff I like. Then I look at God's stuff. The sort of stuff he would like to do if his Spirit had full control of my body. Then I look at my discipleship as cleaning house, making more room for his stuff by first getting rid of the bad stuff like sinful habits, wastefulness with time and things, and replace them with His stuff. It is an ongoing process that requires daily attention and believe me there is always plenty of work ahead!
ReplyDeleteAwesome thoughts... so the follow-up question is: what about your body, your physical body? You've discussed behaviors and vices, but what about the flesh? Does that factor in?
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