“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice…” (Rom. 12:1)
What do you think of when you think of a sacrifice? Maybe you think of the sacrifices in the Old Testament where a perfect lamb was offered up. Today, we usually think of dead sacrifices, not living ones.
I once read that in China, Olympic athletes are chosen as young as 6 years old. Once they are chosen, they attend special schools and begin training intensively. They will be so busy training that they will rarely even see their parents. Everything about their lives revolves around training for the Olympics. They will live in total surrender to Communist China. They are living sacrifices to their country.
As Christians, God has called us to be living sacrifices, too! If these children can commit their lives to work for a gold medal, how much more should we commit our lives to CHRIST?
Presenting your body as a living sacrifice to Jesus is the key to victory and joy. (2 Cor. 8:5) says the Christians “first gave their own selves to the Lord…” God wants 100% commitment from us.
There are many who may be involved but they are not totally committed to God. There is a difference between involvement and commitment. When you look at a plate of ham and eggs, you know the chicken was involved, but the pig was totally committed!
On one of the old Roman coins was the figure of an ox standing between a plow and an altar with the inscription, “Ready for either.” That is to be the attitude we should have as a sold-out Christian. We should be living between the PLOW and the ALTAR, ready for service and sacrifice.