Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1 tells us to present our bodies as a “living sacrifice.” Now that’s a great example of an oxymoron! An oxymoron is a grammar term where two completely opposite terms are brought together in one phrase.

My favorite example of an oxymoron is “jumbo shrimp.” Some other great examples are “deafening silence,” “alone together,” and “found missing.”

Enough of that grammar rabbit trail. Back to “living sacrifice.” A sacrifice requires a killing. So how do we have a “living sacrifice?”

An excerpt from Elisabeth Eliott’s book, Through the Gates of Splendor gives us some thoughts on the subject. She tells us that Jim “limited his extracurricular activities, fearing that he might become occupied in nonessentials and miss the essentials of life…he did, however, go out for wrestling…[explaining] … I wrestle solely for the strength and co-ordination of muscle tone that the body receives while working out, with the ultimate end that of presenting a more useful body as a living sacrifice.”

As Christians, we are to have this same radical mindset. No matter what we do – even if it’s wrestling – we do it to glorify God.

We use our bodies to better serve Him. We take care of it so that it will be ready to obey whatever He calls us to do.

Being a “living sacrifice” is a difficult way to live life. It’s completely against the selfish culture that we live in. But it’s the life that God has called us to live. We can know with confidence that He will equip and guide us along the way.