June 5 – Living Sacrifice

        Romans 12:1 – "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in light of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your reasonable act of worship."

        This is a verse that is heard quite often from the lips of preachers – and rightly so. It is obviously a good reminder verse – a reminder for prompting daily behavior and attitude. There is so much packed into this verse; it hearkens back to the Jewish sacrificial system found throughout the entire Old Testament. Now, however, instead of animals, humans become the sacrifice to God, but not through death. Rather, we are told to be an oxymoron, a living death offering to God, that is to be consumed by the flames upon his altar. After all, a sacrifice was to be either fully consumed by the fire, or its meat was to be eaten by the priests, and the rest consumed by the fire. Thus, two things resulted: the physical sustenance of the priests, and a pleasing aroma to God's nostrils. The first was literal; the second was mystical.

        One thought that comes to mind regarding this verse is to avoid sexual immorality. When we are born again, submitting our lives to God, we need to turn away from our sinful lifestyles, and start obeying God's commands. This agrees with instructions in I Corinthians 6:18-20: "Run away from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." Under the Old Testament, if a person had to travel a long way to Jerusalem in order to sacrifice, he did not have to bring his own sacrifice; he could buy it there. Likewise, God has bought us humans with the blood of Jesus.

        Another thought regarding this verse is that, by a constant offering of our lives, this act of worship is our reasonable service. The Greek word for reasonable is "logikos", from which we get the English word logical. The apostle Paul is stating that our constant offering of ourselves to God is a normal, rational part of living in the Spirit. It is not just done on special occasions; this dying to ourselves is to be done constantly, just like living/breathing is done constantly. There is one problem, however. Dead sacrifices did not move; living sacrifices seem to want to squirm off the altar. We fight against the sinful nature, and do not want to die to our selfish desires. As the verse states, however, our dying to, and offering of, ourselves, is what pleases God. That is the goal for our lives – children living to please their good and faithful Father.

        God, grant us your power by the Spirit, to die to ourselves, and to live every day with a desire to please you, by our actions, words, attitudes, and service to others.

May 05 – Insights, Not Doctrine

        Proverbs 1:2 - "...for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;..."

        The book of Proverbs is interesting in several ways. On the surface, it would seem like a simple, straightforward book of sayings – and most of the proverbs themselves seem to be straightforward. However, beware of taking a proverb, or a string of them, and turning them into their own worldview. Chapters 1-9 are a discourse from Solomon; they contain much wisdom and guidance; but they are not individual sayings (proverbs). These start in chapter 10, and are written mostly as non-related sentences. In other words, the proverb after the one just read could be completely unrelated in nature. They are not meant to be a series of statements in a cohesive doctrine, compiled within a specific context. They are meant to be nuggets of truth, wisdom, and insight. Remember that God gave us the other writings in the Bible also as threads in the greater tapestry. They are all part of the bigger picture.

        The first part of chapter one is a prologue for the rest of the book, giving us the reasons and purposes of the proverbs. Then comes 9 chapters of a discourse on the importance of following the ways of wisdom, which flow together and are cohesive thoughts. After that comes chapters 10-31a, which contain the bulk of the individual sayings. The last part of chapter 31 is a cohesive, small discourse on a wife of noble character. The proverbs in chapters 10-31a can be tricky, because they can appear to be so succinct, to the point, and final (meaning the last word of a matter). For example, Proverbs 18:21 states, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Is the writer talking about causing physical death by the actual words spoken by someone? Can I speak healing to someone without the faith to heal and God's will to heal? Judge for yourself. Combine this proverb with James 3:1-12; Mark 11:22-23; and Ephesians 5:4, 19, to get a broader view of the puzzle, which is comprised of the individual pieces.

        Here is a profound saying from Proverbs 20:24. "A man's steps are directed by Yahweh. How then can anyone understand his own way?" Is this stating that I am just a puppet in God's hands, not responsible for any of my actions? That my own decisions are really not mine? That I am not a man of free will, much less free thought? There are many other verses in the Old and New Testaments that would answer negatively to those questions, and inform us that God does hold us responsible for own actions. This verse is quite general. Perhaps this verse is better understood in the light of Proverbs 19:21; Psalm 115:3; and Ephesians 1:11.

        Consider also an odd saying that appears to be bordering the false.  Proverbs 16:31 states, "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness." Does the writer mean that all people who are gray are righteous? Or does he mean that older persons who have gray hair have achieved longevity due to righteous living? If the latter is true, did the writer observe this in his own long life, with his own perspective of righteousness, understanding that his own love of foreign women led him astray of fully following Yahweh? Regardless of any of those reasonings, why did the Holy Spirit lead him to pen these words? Is there some hidden spiritual meaning to a seemingly obscure saying of minor importance?

        The point that I am trying to make is that one cannot make a doctrine out of one powerful proverb, regardless of how well it seems to sum up a situation. We need the complete compilation of God's inspired writings to give meaning, purpose and correct understanding of God and his Word. Let's allow the proverbs to complement that which we already know, understand, and live.