The above scripture points to the work of the Holy Spirit within us. We are to be ambassadors of God, to love the world and everything in it as Jesus Christ loves the world. This is so difficult for us who are born immersed in rebellion. As God said to Noah, our nature is one of rebellion to God from our very conception. When Noah offered a sacrifice to God after the flood, God said, Never again will I curse the ground because of humans even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. (Genesis 8:21) This reality is hard for us to accept, but if we reflect on the history of mankind, we will know that evil has been a horrible part of mankind’s existence. Millions upon millions have been mutilated, persecuted, humiliated, and destroyed in every possible way. Humans do not like to recognize the nature of man. We want to believe people start out to be good, but the experiences of living nurture us towards evil. We wish that were the case, but that is not scriptural. Romans 12 begins with the following verses: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (1-2) We see the Holy Spirit’s inspired words through Paul’s writing telling us not to be conformed to the pattern of the world: to do evil, to destroy, to maim, to hurt, to place selfish needs and desires over the needs of others. Humans want to get ahead in this world, to compete with others for their own sake, to win the game of life. Paul tells us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is our true and proper worship. The King James Version of the Bible says a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God. What is acceptable to God? Paul lays out what is acceptable to God in the rest of chapter 12. He explains that love must be sincere. Sincerity means we are all in, we are willing to give our lives for others as Jesus Christ did for us. As sure as we love God and would give our lives for him, we should also love our neighbor the same. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (1 John 4:16) Salvation is described this way many times: we in Christ, Christ in us. According to the Bible, we are literally hidden WITH CHRIST IN GOD because of our faith in his death and resurrection. We no longer represent ourselves to the world, but Jesus Christ. We are known as his ambassadors to the world. If so, we are to have his nature in the forefront of our lives, not our nature. Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12) If we are not sincere in our love, if bitterness and hatred is in our hearts, then how can we claim to be baptized, inundated IN CHRIST. If we are truly IN CHRIST, we should desire to be living sacrifices, dying to ourselves and living for Christ.
Today’s verses tell us to reject evil and hold onto goodness. We are to devote ourselves to others in love and honor others above ourselves. We should be zealous and fervent in our spiritual service. Others should see our joyful hope, our patience in difficulties and our faith in prayer. Certainly, we will share with the needy and practice hospitality. Are these attitudes and actions in our lives? Are they plentiful or rarely seen in our action and reactions? Walking with Christ is a journey with many decisions. Almost every day we meet situations where we can display Christ or follow our old nature. We meet situations where we think the best decision for us is to isolate ourselves, to hide out, to protect the flesh, to look out for our best interests. But is this God’s good, pleasing and perfect will or our will? The Bible says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5) Of course, this is what Paul is saying in chapter 12. He warns us to be wary of the fleshly person in us. He encourages us to sacrifice our will for the Father’s will. He asks us to maintain the attitude of a servant and not the master. If we are the master of our lives, we will never give in to the Spirit’s will unless if fits into our self-willed controlling nature. How easy all of this is for us to discuss, but how hard it is to live a life truly dedicated to God. We seldom think about things that demand a sacrifice. Our lives are not focused in that manner because we remain focused on ourselves. We often deceive ourselves by saying the time or the situation is not right for us to love others as ourselves. Or we love them in a way that does not cost us anything. We love them in our minds. But our scripture for today says: Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Some wonderful Christians are good at fulfilling that scripture. But we confess this commitment is often difficult for us to put in action. We attempt to do this in our home, but outside of our acquaintances and close relatives, this becomes a challenge for us. But God, our Father, still loves us and continues to motivate us to hear his voice and follow his commands. We gain confidence in God’s plans for us as we read his Word: For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
Yet we know that we cannot sit and rest, expecting changes in our nature without effort on our part. How many of us are joyful in hope, patient in affliction, or faithful in prayer? Often we have a tendency to stop praying when we face stubborn trials or afflictions? When we give up on our prayers, instead of choosing joy, we sometimes reside in despair. Such a faithless path becomes a common affliction to all of us who fall back into fleshly patterns in times of trouble. Job was a man of despair. He cursed the day he was born. He was so miserable in his depression that he did not want the day of his birth to be remembered. He wanted God to blot that day out of his eternal calendar. Speaking of his birth, Job said, That day—may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine on it. May its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn. (Job 3:4 & 9) That is depression! Most of us do not enter into that black hole of deep depression. But we often despair over circumstances in life, over our own pain, failures, and the vicissitudes of life. Paul tells us to sacrifice our lives to the nature of God. Rather than abiding in depression, we ask the Holy Spirit within us to help us. We purpose in our hearts that our desire is to follow God with sincere love. Then we will be able to say by faith we will be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. As we walk in the Spirit, we become stronger in the Lord. Then we can cling to hope, even when it seems irrational or unreasonable. With a voice of faith we can declare God’s mercy and grace when we struggle with fear or doubt. With the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we will sing praises to God, believing He will lift us from the depths of despair. We must remember we are new creations in Christ, God’s children and his servants on Earth. We have his nature; we do not need to serve our old nature. We want to do his will, not our will. We are free from the past. As Peter wrote, But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9) Today, since you have this wonderful inheritance in Christ, as his child and servant, we encourage you to pray about everything. Commune with the Father constantly as the Holy Spirit works inside of you. Listen to the still, quiet voice of the Holy Spirit. God has not left you in the wilderness. He is there as surely as He was with the children of Israel in the wilderness: a cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night. When you seek God first in your life, you will have zeal for his Word. The Bible will be exciting to you, increasing your spiritual fervor. Lastly, we should all share with the Lord’s people who are in need, and practice hospitality. Our hunger for God and desire to do his will should drive us to action. Sacrificing our lives in the flesh to God’s will in the Spirit takes practice, obedience, and commitment. Our nature is not prone to accept other’s needs and desires before our own needs and desires, but God is love and He gives us his love. We shine for him in a dark world with sincere faith, hope, and love.
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