In his letter to the Roman church, the Apostle Paul was urging, begging, the members of the church to present their bodies a living sacrifice. Wait a minute — a LIVING SACRIFICE? Doesn’t the mere word “sacrifice” insinuate death? How can one be a “living sacrifice”?

Victor or Victim?

In order to clarify what Paul was writing, let us look closer at the words in the text. In the Greek, the verb “present” means to place a person or object at another’s disposal. The noun sacrifice also means “victim”. Victim brings to mind a negative image; yet, Jesus was a victim — a willing victim. He placed Himself at the disposal of God the Father, laying down His life on the cross for each and every person. He was willing to endure excruciating physical pain, not to mention the pain of separation from the Father.

So if one becomes a victim like this, is one really a victim? I would say “no” not victim, rather “victor”. With that, in the next verse, Paul is encouraging all to not be conformed or molded by and to this world, but to be transformed, changed by the renewal of our minds. Since Jesus is our example, we follow Him; the laying down of our lives becomes a sacred act.

Being Transformed by the Word

Because of His great act of worship to the Father, so too, we can worship Jesus and the Father that way. And when we worship that way, we hunger more…