Glorious Submission

An understanding of Lordship’s responsibility makes submission to the Lord so easy.

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Romans 12:1 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

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Our Text for Today is one of the frequently referenced verses in Scripture as it regards holiness, sanctification, and our requirement of the Lord to be submitted to Him.  And that is absolutely understandable.  But when it is viewed through the lens of Lordship’s responsibility, its importance to our daily life becomes one of the greatest blessings we will ever receive in this present world.  Let’s examine that a bit closer today.

Look first at the urgency revealed in this command.  To “beseech” means to beg or pray urgently.  To “beseech . . . by the mercies of God” is to beg or pray urgently from the greatest depths of the love of God which never fails.  We are examining the very heart of God for His people, and that is the same love He exercised when He gave Jesus as our ransom on the cross.

Now think of this.  When anything is offered to the Lord as a sacrifice, and is determined by Him to be acceptable, that sacrifice becomes a precious possession of the Lord that He has honored by His acceptance.  Now imagine being a precious and prized possession of God Almighty that He has accepted from His holy altar of sacrifice.  How precious you must be to Him!  Then continue even further with this train of thought with the understanding that the sacrifice you have become is not one that is slain, its blood being shed, before it is burned as an offering to the Lord.  The sacrifice we are discussing is a “living sacrifice.”  If a slain sacrifice is honored and accepted by the Lord Who is faithful to never forget your works of righteousness, how much greater is it to be a “living sacrifice” offered to Him as a never-to-be-forgotten work of righteousness.

When you were born again, you were seen by the Lord as having been “crucified with Christ.”  “Nevertheless, I [you] live.”  And if you are alive in Christ, you are alive in the anointing, and thereby a vessel of honor set in place for the Master’s use.  Oh, the joy of that thought.  As a believer, you are a prized and precious possession, alive and suited for God’s purposeful use.  Do you remember the words of Jesus after He had fed the multitude?  He told His disciples to take up the fragments so that “nothing be lost.”  Can you see it?  If you are alive in Jesus, you are useful to the Lord, a redeemed child of His in His kingdom, and as such, He wants every part of you to be used for His glory.  That being said, how much care do you think He will take to look after you, protect you, provision you, and produce fruitfulness in you IF ONLY you will submit yourself totally to His responsible Lordship!

Manna for Today – Romans 12:1-21; Joshua 1:6-9; Proverbs 4:20-22; John 14:12-17; John 3:16;           1 John 5:3; Galatians 2:20; John 6:12