Lord, I surrender all. Romans
chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God. So begins Paul's earnest plea.
He entreats us by the wondrous mercies of our wondrous God,
described in the previous chapters of Romans. Justification by faith. Peace with God. Access to God's
grace. hope of glory, God's love poured
into our hearts, Christ's substitutionary and sin-atoning death, union
with Christ, freedom from sin's dominion, freedom from condemnation,
the indwelling Holy Spirit, adoption into God's family, God's control
of all things for the good of His people, effectual calling,
justification, and glorification, God's invincible love, God's
sovereign mercy. Paul's entreaty is all-encompassing.
Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Not merely your thoughts,
words, or Sundays, but your whole life. A living sacrifice means
continual yielding, moment by moment. Not a one-time gesture,
but a continuous daily surrender. Unlike Old Testament sacrifices,
which were slain and offered once, we are called to crawl
continually upon the altar, offering our eyes, our hands, our tongues,
our feet, our time, our energy, our all. Such surrender is described
as holy and pleasing to God. Astonishingly, our imperfect
obedience, when offered sincerely in Christ, is pleasing to our
Father. This sacrifice is our reasonable
service. It is not extreme or fanatical. To hold anything back from the
God who gave His Son to die for our sins is what is truly unreasonable. A life wholly given to God is
the only fitting response to the cross. Paul continues, Do
not be conformed to this world. This world seduces us to fit
in, to love ease and pleasure, to seek applause, to live for
self. But this poor world is passing away. To be conformed
to it is to be shaped by sin and destined for damnation. We
are called to stand apart and resist being squeezed into the
mold of godless culture. Instead, we are to be transformed
by the renewing of our minds. This transformation begins with
truth, God's Word saturating our thoughts. This renewed mind
leads to a transformed life, a life that delights in God's
will and walks in it. And you will prove what is the
good and acceptable and perfect will of God. As we surrender
to Him, we come to know by experience that His will is not a burden,
but our best blessing. His will is not only perfect
in design, but perfect in result. Have you surrendered all to your
loving Savior? Not just in speech or sentiment,
but in truth. Let your devoted life be the
reasonable response to His marvelous mercies. Present yourself to
God, not as a partial offering, but as a living, holy, daily
sacrifice. This alone is true worship. Lord,
I surrender all.