“Therefore”
Have you heard “one-way
missionaries”? A century ago there was a band of brave souls, who purchased
single tickets to the mission field without the return half. And instead of
suitcases, they packed their few earthly belongings into coffins. As they
sailed out of port, they waved good-bye to everyone they loved, everything they
knew. They knew they’d never return home. A. W. Milne was one of those
missionaries. He set sail for the New Hebrides in the South Pacific, knowing well
that the tribe members who lived there had martyred every missionary before
him. Milne did not fear for his life, because he had already died to himself.
His coffin was packed. For 35 years, he lived among that tribe and loved them.
When he died, tribe members buried him in the middle of their village and
inscribed this epitaph on his tombstone. It said,
“When he came there was no light.
When he left there was no darkness.”
As we hear the story of A. W.
Milne, many of us think that kind of life is just for the certain, chosen people,
but not for me. We may have not been called to be missionaries, but all of us are called to be all in for
Christ, the All in All. Mark Batterson rightly said, “Jesus didn’t die to
keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous. The will of God is not an
insurance plan. It’s a daring plan. The complete surrender of your life to the
cause of Christ isn’t radical. It’s normal.”[1]
If Romans 1-11 are about the gospel of Christ itself, today’s scripture Romans
12 marks a turning point. Now Paul tells us what it looks like to live our life
in a manner worthy of the gospel in everyday life. In particular, verses 1-2
are a summary of the whole of the Christian life: “Present your bodies and your minds to God as living sacrifices. Let all of your life be worship.”
Consecrated Bodies
Normally, we are often encouraged
to give our “hearts” to God, but not our “bodies.” But in verse 1 Paul is clear
that the presentation of our bodies
is our spiritual act of worship. In
Paul’s time, influenced by Platonic thought, people regarded the body as a
tomb, in which the human spirit was imprisoned and from which they longed for
its escape. Still today some Christians have that “spirit-good/ body-bad” dualistic
thinking. But here Paul is saying: “Worship is not just purely inward, abstract
and mystical, offered in the church building; it must express itself in
concrete acts of service performed by our bodies in home life and in the
market-place.” Then, what does it look like to present our bodies to God? In
fact, Frances Havergal was inspired by Romans 12:1 and beautifully described what
it means to give our bodies to God in this way:
Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord,
to thee…
Take my hands, and let them move at the
impulse of thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and
beautiful for thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing always, only
for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages
from thee…
Consecration. Consecrated bodies. But
it is much more than just doing good works.
Transformed
It is quite possible to do good
works, keep God’s commandments, avoid all kinds of worldly behaviors, but still
not be transformed. Remember the rich young ruler in Luke 18? He said to Jesus,
“All of God’s commandments I have kept from my youth!” Jesus said, “One thing
you still lack. Sell your possessions and follow me.” Here, basically, Jesus
was saying, “You must be born again. You must be transformed.”
In today’s passage Paul says that
two patterns are help up: the pattern of the world and the pattern of God’s
will. When we get down to the bottom of our life, we see the root, the
foundation of what makes us happy. It is either “self” or “God.” Let me give
you an example. When I was in seminary, all the doors seemed to be closed. In
my third year at seminary I had learned that my school was not approved by the
UMC. So when I applied for the UMC ordination process, I was rejected. Then, I
tried to transfer to Boston University School of Theology, that is, the
Methodist affiliated school. But the thing is I would have to give up quite a
few credits and retake classes. That was not a good option. As I was navigating
and discerning, God began to search me and invite me to get to the bottom of my
life by asking questions. “Why do you want to be a pastor?” I said, “I want to
help people to find and live abundant life. That makes me happy.” Then, he
asked, “Why does that make you happy?” He kept asking, “Why” questions. When
there were not any more answers, I saw the bottom. I saw who I am. I was
pursuing success – successful ministry, successful church, successful pastor, because
that would make much of me. At the end I surrendered myself to God and said, "Lord, I will serve you alone. I will not worship my school, my denomination, my church, or my career."
Transformation is to remove self at
the bottom and replace it with God at the bottom. Transformation changes the
bottom, the root, the foundation of what makes us happy. John Piper rightly
said, “When you are transformed in Christ, you love to do what you ought to
do.”[2]
For the young rich ruler, he kept the ten commandments, followed all the rules,
did good works, and lived a moral life, because he ought to do. Perhaps, his
lifestyle might make him happy. But at the bottom of his joy there was self,
not God. That’s why he felt something was missing. That’s why he came to Jesus.
But when we are transformed in Christ, we keep the ten commandments, because we
love to do it. We come to worship, because it brings joy and satisfaction. We give
and tithe, because it gives us freedom and life.
Renewed Minds
So Paul exhorts us, “Be
transformed. Do not have self at the bottom, but have God at the bottom.” But
how? “By the renewal of our mind.” What’s wrong with our minds? The Bible says
our minds are fallen. Romans 1:21 says, “For though they knew God, they did not
honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their
thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.” (NRSV). Our minds are bent
on not seeing God as more worthy of praise than we are. Our minds are not by
nature God-glorifying minds. They are by nature self-worshiping minds. This is
who we are by nature. So our minds must be renewed.
In today’s passage Paul does not
tell us how our mind becomes renewed, but we know from his other writings and
from the Scriptures. Our mind is renewed through the Holy Spirit and the word
of God. In Ezekiel 36:26 God promises, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your
stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” This promise is
fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes to his people. Titus
3:5 says, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but
because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (NIV). The
Spirit renews our mind. Let us pray fervently that the Holy Spirit may renew
our mind. Let us welcome him, invite him by exposing our mind to God’s word, so
that the Holy Spirit, the Author of the Bible, may renew our mind and transform
us.
All of Life as Worship
“Transform” is the Greek word metamorpho. The only other place where
Paul uses, it is in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face,
beholding the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from
one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Here Paul tells us transformation
is not a one time event; it is ongoing, daily journey, daily walk with Jesus,
one degree at a time.
So what does it look like to live
as a living sacrifice to God? The answer would be to worship him with all of our life. We can worship God in everything
we do in everyday life. Brother Lawrence, whose nickname was the kitchen saint,
once said, "Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . .
We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for
love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate
myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise
happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground
for the love of God."[3]
That is what it means to worship God with all of life – in everything we do in
everyday life.
Pastor Mark Batterson, in his book All In, gives us very wise advice about
how to worship God with all of life in this way: “I don’t know if you can
overcome alcoholism or anorexia for the rest of your life, but I believe you
can win the battle today. Don’t worry
about next week or next year. Live in
day-tight compartments. Can you
resist temptation for twenty-four hours?
Can you win the battle for one day? I
know you can. So do you. And so does the Enemy. Take it one day at a time![4]
Tomorrow will worry about itself. So let us fix our eyes on Jesus today. Let us die to self and live for
Christ today. Let us pray today that the Holy Spirit will open our
eyes and renew our minds, that we may be transformed! Then, we will know God’s
good, pleasing, perfect will and sing to God a song of glory:
Take my will, and make it thine; it shall be
no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is thine own; it shall be
thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at thy feet
its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all
for thee!
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