A Life Worthy

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1).

The Jews offered a dead sacrifice.  They were, in a sense, fulfilling a contract, paying, “The wages of sin” that Paul talks about in Romans 6:23.  But we are not under that contract—that law.  We are under the covenant of grace.  We receive “The gift of God…eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” that comes in the second half of that verse.  So our sacrifice is a living sacrifice.  We offer ourselves.

I like to think I could die for Jesus if it came to that—if someone put a gun to my head and told me to deny him, or some such thing.  I’d bet that, under the same conditions, you would die for him as well.

But we’re not called to die for him—not in that sense.

We’re called to live for him.  And, some days, that can seem so much harder.

One definition of worship is, “To offer God all that we are in response to all that he is.” I like that, because it implies that everything we do can be worship, if we do it for him.

Will you worship him today, Beloved?  Will you offer your body—your life—to him, to do with as he pleases?  I don’t know what that will entail, but I know that it will bring you closer to your Lord.

And it will bring him the glory he deserves.

Not a bad way to start your week, hmm?

Happy Monday, Beloved.

Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you (Psalm 73:27).

Well, that sounds unpleasant.

What about that loving, kind, gracious God we keep talking about? This “destroy” business sounds seriously judgmental.

Um…yep.

Beloved, God is not a player of games.  He has declared that there is but one way to be with him forever, and that is through his son, Jesus Christ.  Those who choose to follow their own path are, well, choosing their destiny.

The question, of course, is not “Why would God destroy some?”

The question is, “Why would he save any?

Or, more specifically, “Why  would he save me?”

Great question, Beloved.

Happy Thursday

And earth has nothing I desire besides you (Psalm 73:25b).

Don’t get me wrong.  There are things I like in this world, even things I love.

Mint chocolate chip ice cream

Giant sunflowers

My new hammock

My old chair

The birch trees in my backyard, under which I have hung the new hammock.

Fire

McDonald’s fries

Reruns of Monk  

Those other people I live with

But not one of them–for that matter not all of them–stack up for a moment against Him, now do they?  When it comes to the deep desires, the longings of the heart, the ache in the center of You, there is only One who can satisfy, only One who can meet the need.

Keep that in mind as you move through your Tuesday.  You will be tempted to satisfy your soul with stuff today.  It happens every day.  But whether you buy the latte or the Lamborghini, it won’t be enough.  It won’t fulfill.

But he will.

He is.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

…and afterward you will take me into glory (Psalm 73:24b).

This life will not last forever, you know.

I hope that didn’t come as a surprise.

If so…Surprise!

I can’t imagine what glory will be like.

Except…you know…really good.

I hear stories of streets paved with gold, and new bodies with a very low percentage of body fat and virtually no male pattern baldness, and lots of singing and dancing and general delight.

Count me in.

Of course, when it comes right down to it, glory isn’t really about what, or even where.

It’s about Who.

We get to be with him, Beloved.  Literally in his presence.  The One who has formed you and loved you and rescued you and corrected you and taught you and forgiven you and cleansed you and prepared you and preserved you will now be with you.

Forever

Sound good, Beloved?

I agree.

Happy Friday

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand (Psalm 73:23).

What image comes to your mind when you read this verse?

Is it a child walking quietly with her father, listening and learning and exploring the world?

Is it a hiker stepping across the rocks in a fast-moving stream, holding on to a partner with steady feet and a sure grip?

Is it a bride standing at the altar, taking her husband’s hand as she says, “I do?”

Is it a man old and full of years, breathing his last, holding the hand of the one who has loved him through long years of joy and pain and triumph and loss?

What do you see, Beloved?

It is all these things.

And it is more.

Happy Wednesday.