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.
Romans 12:1-2
One of the most influential verses in my spiritual journey is Romans 12:1-2.
In fact, I can remember exactly where I was sitting the first time I heard it read and explained. I was a senior in high school sitting on a cold metal folding chair in chilly Nebraska. But the truth contained in those verses changed my perspective forever, helping me understand the difference between going to church and following Jesus.
Paul begins by urging us, in view of God’s mercy, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Then he says something extraordinary: “This is your true and proper worship.”
For many of us, worship means singing songs or attending a service on Sunday morning. And while that is certainly part of worship, Paul’s description of true worship goes well beyond that. True and proper worship, he says, has nothing to do with a specific day, location, or activity.
True worship is offering our lives—our whole selves—as living sacrifices to God.
Think about the weight of that word: sacrifice.
Sacrifice means giving up something of value for a greater purpose. Worship, in Paul’s definition, isn’t just what we do for an hour on Sunday. It is about what we give up every moment of every day for the sake of Jesus.
But how do we live like this?
Paul provides the answer: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Two steps. One, do not conform. Two, be transformed.
Avoiding conformity means resisting the pressures and patterns around us that lead us away from God.
Transformation is the work of renewal—reorienting our minds and hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit.
But the promise attached to that decision is incredible: “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
True worship is the daily offering of all that we are to the God who gave everything for us.
That is the sacrifice He is looking for. And it is the only true and proper worship worthy of His name.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I offer myself to You today as a living sacrifice. Help me resist the patterns of this world and be transformed by the renewing of my mind. May my life—every moment of it—be true and proper worship to You. Amen.