Beautiful Sacrifice ~ Romans 12:1-8 ~ Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

There comes a peculiar time in every family when the number of licensed drivers outnumbers the number of vehicles in the household. 

Everyone has someplace to go: some end up winners, others end up as “losers” “bumming rides.”

Most of the time, I had the car at my disposal, while my dad was the one “bumming rides.”  But he never complained—even though he was working to make payments on a car he never drove. 

It’s taken over a decade for me to realize what a great sacrifice this was. This brought into perspective something they both said to me and my sister: “we would give our lives for you.”  This was one small, yet no-less-significant way that they sacrificed themselves for me and my sister.

So how do we feel about sacrifice?

The truth is, sacrifice is not part of our human nature.  It’s never something we want to do.  And our culture certainly doesn’t encourage it.

On the contrary, our culture is increasingly narcissistic—self-absorbed, if you will.  A good quality of life means having it all, knowing it all, and doing it all—to the extent that others envy you and wish they could be you.  

The world tells you that you can and should have it all your way—without having to sacrifice anything.  Faster, cheaper, better is the rule.  Ours is a culture of entitlement to the extreme—especially if you have the money.

The trouble is, there is a cost to living this way.  You see, the avoidance of sacrifice on the part of the self creates sacrifice for the neighbor.  That’s why there are people who work hard in multiple jobs and still can’t make ends meet.  That’s why our planet is polluted.  That’s why we’re seeing an unprecedented clash of civilizations all around the world.  When “it’s all about me,” everybody loses.  “Me” is a dead end. 

What’s worse is that the Christian faith has largely become “all about me.”  It’s not often that you’ll hear sermons or read Christian books about forgiveness or radically changing the way you live for your neighbor’s sake.  The measure of a church is defined in terms of “what you get out of it.”  What we want is a Christian faith that gives us everything, and demands no sacrifice.  Your needs and wants take priority over everything and everyone—including the Gospel.  Without sacrifice, love grows cold.  Faith grows cold.  Jesus will be little more than an imaginary friend if we don’t sacrifice for him. 

Today, God’s Word invites us into a beautiful new way of life.  In the 12^th chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul writes,

“present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

A living sacrifice begins at the altar God raises up beneath the cross where Jesus bled and died.  There, God reveals a love that is truly out of this world.  We’re claimed loved by God, just as we are, regardless of what’s in the past.  As far as the east is from the west, our sins are forgiven.  In the cross we see that each of us is so precious to God, that Jesus willingly sacrificed himself so that we would be his own forever.   Christ’s love gives us everlasting life; for without it there would be everlasting death. 

We must get off the hamster wheel of life, stop thinking about ourselves, and pay attention to what God is doing for you in Jesus Christ.  The love that transforms our eternity has the power to transform our selves.  It has the power to transform our heart, minds, and even our priorities.  The fires of God’s love literally consume the sin by which we think and act only for our own sake.  Ultimately, we present ourselves as living sacrifices as an act of trust, joy, and hope. 

It is then, through beautiful sacrifices we offer, for the sake of God and neighbor, that our lives are renewed and transformed.  We’re liberated from fears and anxieties that turn us into ourselves.  We ourselves are healed as we witness the power of God working in us and through us.  Our communities will be healed as we use the gifts of God to care for our neighbors in need.  Best of all, we’ll see Christ more fully.  We’ll not only know his will.  We’ll do it.

If you’ve watched the news recently, you probably know that a lot of living sacrifices are being made around the world.  Brothers and sisters, with whom we share a common baptism and common hope, are dying on account of their faith in Christ.  We call those persons martyrs.  But the word “martyr” means witness.  No one could face death without the Holy Spirit giving them the kind of faith to believe that they will see the face of Christ immediately after they see the face of their executioners. 

We are so blessed to have religious freedom.  We must exercise this freedom for the sake of Christ, for our neighbors, and yes—even for ourselves.  We can gather beneath the cross of Christ, without fear of death of persecution. 

So I challenge you to examine yourselves beneath the cross and ask, “what beautiful sacrifices am I invited to present?”  This isn’t time to beat yourself up for your sins.  Instead, can you give what’s important and most pressing in your life to Christ, trusting that the life he gives you in exchange will be even greater?  Can you give your everything to the one who gave you his everything?  For it is in a life of beautiful sacrifice that you discover the heart of Christ in yours.  It is in beautiful sacrifice that the power of resurrection takes hold.