Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:1, 2Ephesians 5:1, 2
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
5 1 Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. 2 ; . Let love be your guide. Christ loved us j us: Some manuscripts have “you.” and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.
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When I was younger I often heard the question, “What are you going to do with your life?” It sounds like a reasonable question to ask someone just starting out, but if you belong to Christ, the question carries an untrue assumption. Our lives are not out own. We do not have ownership of our present, or our futures. If you are in Christ, you are bought with a price; purchased out of slavery to sin. And you no longer call the shots. As the kosher foods commercial says, you “answer to a higher authority”.
What is not true about this purchased life is that you automatically make the right choices, and act as some kind of spiritual robot. No, Christ has not taken away our free will when he bought our lives. So, even though our ownership is not our own, we do have a choice of how we spend our time each day. And therein lies the problem. We do not always choose to follow his direction, to engage in the activities he wants us to, or to spend our time in ways that honor and reflect him. That is the continual struggle we face as long as we are on this earth. Perhaps if we look more closely at the facts of our lives belonging to God, we will understand the purpose behind and the benefits of living our lives wholly devoted to him.
Who were we before Christ?
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
Ephesians 2:1-3Ephesians 2:1-3
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
From Death to Life 2 1 . In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. 2 You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn't obey God. 3 Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.
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Maybe you thought you were not that bad. Maybe you thought, like my grandmother, that you hardly ever left the house, so you certainly were not a bad sinner! But clearly the scripture says we were dead in our sins, bound for the hell that we deserved as enemies of Christ. You may not have committed any of the BIG sins, but by nature you are a sinner and separated from God.
What did Christ do for us?
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-7Ephesians 2:4-7
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ, and God's wonderful kindness is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. 7 God did this so that in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done.
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His love was the motivation—love extended to us even when we were his enemies. His plan to save us was to take Jesus’ death in our place. And with that gift of his life, we also received the right to become children of God and share in all the inheritance that Christ has. Just think about that. While we were deserving of death and hell, we instead were given life, and were adopted into God’s family. What a gift! What unspeakable gratitude we should have.
What should our response be?
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 12:1Romans 12:1
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Christ Brings New Life 12 1 Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God.
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Our response should be to give our whole life to him. In that we are willing to go where he asks us to go, and do what he asks us to do. That will involve the job we work, the activities we choose to involve ourselves in and the place we find to serve the body of Christ. It will affect how we do that job, how we play those activities, and how we perform our jobs of service. We should perform, act and live as a living sacrifice, as one who totally belongs to God and does not own his own life. In that way we will demonstrate to all around what it means to be a child of God. This surrendered life is a tiny sacrifice, but it is all we can give to him. It is our spiritual act of worship.
thoughts to ponder
- Who do I believe owns my life?
- Do I live like I am totally surrendered to Him?
- Do my activities and attitudes show all around me that I belong to God?
prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for all that you have done for me. Thank you for giving your life for me when I was your enemy and bound for hell. Thank you for taking me into your family, and blessing me with all spiritual blessings. Help me to remember that I belong to you, and help me give you my entire life. May everything I do reflect my surrendered, sacrificed life. Amen.
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