Moving right along. Romans 12.3-8

As we prepare to move deep into Romans chapter 12, we must establish something first. In verses one and two, Paul has challenged those who call themselves ‘Christians’ to dedicate themselves to God. ‘Don’t just do a half-baked job,’ Paul says…or in other vernacular, ‘don’t play both sides of the fence.’

Devote yourself to Jesus Christ. (And then my new reader from Cameroon says, ‘but Madam, I didn’t read that part—I wasn’t with you yet.’ And then again there are two other new brothers who have added to Morning Briefings just yesterday, from Nigeria, who might not know Paul’s charge…or perhaps there are others of you who find that Summer has clouded your thinking, so let me reiterate.

Romans 12, verses one and two, finds Paul pleading in the strongest terms possible, for Christ followers to give themselves over as living sacrifices to God. (Yes, a living sacrifice could indeed climb off the altar…of that, Paul is well aware! In reality, that is our problem, isn’t it? With our mouth, we pledge our troth to God, and then just days later, we choose to go the other direction; we choose to devote ourselves to things other than him—other than his ways.)

For another look at these two unparalleled verses, I turn to the Phillips translation: With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him.

Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. Romans 12.1-2, J.B. Phillips

‘Present yourselves,’ Paul pleads, ‘be transformed, do not be conformed.’ God wants our commitment, he wants our dedication, and total devotion to him and his way of seeing the world—his way of doing things. Hmmm….can we give ourselves to that?

We can dedicate ourselves to eating well … we can dedicate ourselves to improving our fitness level, but dedicate ourselves wholly to God? Hmmm, not so sure. Really, what he is after is surrender. The funny thing is, though, when you tell a single mom who has ‘done it all on her own’ that God is asking her to surrender herself to him, she backs up. When you tell a ‘self made man’ that God requires that he surrender his will, he bristles. Yet that is what God wants from you and me. . . he wants a living sacrifice.

Are you IN? Oh, it seems the choice is easy…of course, I am IN—no one has ever loved me like God; no one sacrificed for me but Jesus Christ. To that, yes, I can surrender. Yes, I am IN … I surrender.

‘Okay, God, then what comes next? I dedicate myself to you, now what?’

Paul answers, beginning in verse three: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,

so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;

if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

That’s right! You read it here, folks. Paul connects our dedication to God with our humility, which will then lead us to serve the Body of Christ … oh not in some esoteric, pie-in-the-sky manner, but according to the gift he has given us when we claimed him as our Savior.

Because you have dedicated your life to him who loves you, you are willing to surrender your will, for he is a good God. From that heart, and with your gifting, should be your natural inclination to serve.

Dedicated/surrendered to God -> gifted by God -> to serve.

Christine