All Or Nothing

I woke up with a hymn ringing in my ear; the last stanza of “When I survey the wondrous cross”. It goes like this:
“Were the whole realm of nature mineThat were an offering far to smallLove so amazing, so divineDemands my soul, my life my all”
The whole hymn describes Christ’s death on the cross; what it cost God to sacrifice His son for our sake; and that love for us moved God to do that. Then in the last stanza which I quoted, the writer talks about what our appropriate response to this act of love should be. He says even if we gave the whole world to God it would not be enough. The only appropriate response to what God did is to give our all to Him.
That brings to mind Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
Being a living sacrifice means giving your whole life to God so He can use it! Giving your all, means your life, your time, your family, your actions, etc. We cannot say we have given our lives to God as living sacrifices and then hold on to one or two areas. We either give Him our all or keep our all.
A sacrifice is costly and it also means offering something precious to God. The second verse goes on to explain that being a living sacrifice means being transformed by the renewal of our minds; this way we will not conform to the world. As we immerse ourselves in the word of God, the Holy Spirit will use it to work out the transformation in us!
God desires that every believer be a living sacrifice. Let each of us examine our worship and determine to give our all, not so much because God demands it but more so because it is the only appropriate response to Christ’s sacrificial love towards us!
Blessings!
Lady Monica ❤