February 17

Serving The Lord

Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. — Rom 12:1 BSB

The first step for all of us is to present ourselves to God as alive from the dead, offering our bodies as living sacrifices. The path of blessedness begins here. Only by refusing to conform to this world and yielding ourselves to be transformed by the Holy Spirit can we discover God’s full will for us. We are nothing, but He is everything. He is ready to be and do all things in us, if we open ourselves to Him as the earth opens to the summer sun.

Those who live this yielded life do not need to seek God’s will through signs; they recognize it by the whisper of His voice and the touch of His hand. As we refuse to be shaped by the world and give ourselves to God’s transforming Spirit, we will know His good, pleasing, and perfect will. More than that, we will begin to live for others, drawing from God’s fullness to minister to them.

First, we understand God’s will; then we offer ourselves to fulfill it through our bodies; then we discover that His will is goodwill to others, and we become happy channels of heavenly ministry to those around us. It is impossible to be jealous, because the Head may choose to use one member or another; it is equally impossible to be proud, because we have nothing that we did not receive. Each of us has a special ministry to fulfill, and we will find opportunities to do so in our daily lives.

Many people, like the landowner in the Eastern story, sell everything in search of diamonds, only to discover that the land they sold was full of diamonds. In the daily drudgery of life, you will find your heavenly opportunity. Many who pine for a great mission will never enter it because they despise the humble door of service to those near them.

But these divine ideals cannot be realized through external obedience alone. We must be driven by a holy love for the Lord and for one another. Without the Holy Spirit, these ideals would be impossible. But holy love comes from Him.

Prayer

O God, work in me not only to will but to do Your good pleasure. Help me to work out in daily life what You are working in. Amen.