“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Romans 12:1
For several months now, the Lord has impressed upon me the truth that everything in life is about Him and His glory. The emphasis, the attention, the benefit is for God and His glory. It has nothing to do with what I can get out this relationship. It’s simply about God and His glory. In Romans 12:1 Paul says to “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice” and that this is our worship to the Lord. The purpose of sanctification … the purpose of our obedience … the purpose for our pursuit of godliness is ultimately to worship God. Period. It is NOT to bring more benefit to me. It is to make God’s name great.
In many ways this is so liberating and comforting to me. To be completely honest, the pursuit of godliness and obedience to the Lord can be a “burden.” If I just think about the time and energy I have to commit towards obedience and sanctification (church, spiritual disciplines, relationships, accountability, lifestyle, etc), I already feel tired . But I realized that it was a burden only because I approached these things with the subtle motive of how they would benefit me. And when I saw no immediate benefit that satisfied a selfish desire, those things became a burden. But mediating on this simple truth transformed this burden into a privilege when I saw that what I offer to the Lord in complete surrender glorifies and worships Him. It’ not about me, it’s about Him.
