Eyes On God
Romans 12:1-2 —
‘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.’
Have you ever found yourself deep in a YouTube hole? Like you clicked on one innocent speed-clean video, and two hours later you're knee deep in clips of people popping spots or something gross like that! Well this happened to me recently and amongst the countless videos of kids falling over and dropping things there was one clip that whilst funny actually had me feeling a little convicted. It showed a little boy who’s mum told him to ‘say his prayers’ and who, without a moments pause, responds “AbluerbqblueruhtgbluerAMEN”
Of course it was funny and sweet, but it also felt like a worryingly accurate picture of my attitude to prayer and other spiritual disciplines sometimes. A task or a chore that needs checking off, not always something I want to dwell in or give room to really change me, but something done out of duty and legalism rather than real faith and relationship.
If, like me, that sounds at all familiar then I wonder if this verse in Romans might be a timely reminder of the importance of the posture of our hearts? There are various ways in which we can live lives sacrificed to the Lord. But each of them is possible only when we live them constantly in view of God’s mercy. In these verses, Paul is first and foremost reminding us, not of our duty to pray or fast or help the poor and needy - but to root our lives in worship. That given Jesus, in light of everything he has done for us, the only response is to offer ourselves to him, a living sacrifice pleasing to the lord.
When we try to do things the other way round, it is exhausting and depleting. But when we live as recipients of salvation, in the knowledge of the magnitude of God’s love for us, our lives become acts of worship, sacrificed to the Lord.
Prayer: God, help me to stay constantly in sight of your love for me. And may the depth of that love flow through me towards all of creation. Amen.
Hazel Lynch