Hearing His Voice #151

I [Paul] plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. . . . Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

Sacrifices were made often in the days of the Tabernacle and the Temple—morning and evening, on behalf of nations and individuals and families, for sin, for gratitude, and for devotion. Harvest offerings included the first and best of crops, and sin offerings included many kinds of animals. In the Levitical instructions, one gets the impression that blood flowed nearly constantly from Israel’s altar. In every case, the sacrifice was just that—a sacrifice. It represented a costly gift to God.

Today, our offerings are usually much less intrusive in our lives and much more monetary. We pay God a sum and consider the offering done. But Scripture urges much more than that. God doesn’t demand a compulsory sacrifice, but He invites a comprehensive one given in a spirit of joy. He wants us to offer not just our income or our efforts, but our entire selves to Him.

Unlike the sacrifices of the Old Testament, our offering doesn’t die. We continue to live, not under our own direction but under the complete ownership of the one to whom we’ve given ourselves. We are fully functioning sacrifices, alive and set apart for a specific purpose. But only if we present ourselves as such.

The results of our sacrifices are numerous, but one is the promise of knowing God’s will. When we have a hard time hearing Him, it may be because discovering His will is a somewhat obscure and ongoing process, but it may also be because we aren’t living sacrificially under His exclusive direction. When we offer ourselves fully to Him, he offers His guidance fully to us.

Lord, You take great pleasure in speaking to the sacrifices on Your altar. I do offer myself to You, but I can’t even begin to understand all the implications of that. You’ll have to show me over time. Teach me and lead me patiently.