Based on Romans 12 (New King James Version)
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
In today’s passage, we see many indications, many things that we are being taught we should do. We see that we should present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy, and acceptable to God. We see that we should not be conformed to the times we are living in, or rather, to the world we live in, and that we should be transformed. We see that we should look for the will of God. We read also how we should treat our fellow man, and even our enemies. We are being commanded many things here. And one could ask, “Why is so much being requested from us, that we practically have to abandon our lives to live for God and for our neighbor?” And it is a valid question. In all reality, we should ask ourselves this question so that we can then understand the reason for all of this. After all, God did create us with reasoning, with the ability to be able to absorb, understand, process, and like that, make decisions. In summary, before things can get to the heart, they have to first cross through our intellect, by our reasoning. So then, we will argue for the simple fact that God has the right to direct us, for us to do His will, and we have extremely irrefutable arguments that should take us to a complete conviction on why it is fair what God is asking us to do.
For starters, there is the argument that God is God. There is no greater authority in the universe. There is no one else like Him. He is Supreme, the Most High, the Almighty. There is truly no way possible to explain with words this reality. The Word opens for us very small windows (per se) so that we can at least be able to have an idea of Who is this God, and His position in the immovable and eternal world. For it is written: “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’ And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!’” Revelation 5:11-13. So then, the simple fact that God is God, and that there is none higher than Him should motivate us.
The second argument has to do with the issue that God made everything, including, human beings. Nothing that we see, not even yourself would exist if it were not for God. You wouldn’t even have an idea of what life is without the Lord. As it is written: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4. And so, He not only created everything, and allowed for you to live, but also, we are taught that everything subsists because of Him. In other words, He not only created, and just left it all running on its own, but also, absolutely nothing in the universe can continue existing if it were not for the Lord. As it is also written: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Colossians 1:16-17. And so, if you came to have life, it’s because He allowed it to happen. And if you continue to live and do everything you are able to do now, from the small and insignificant, even to the most critical in your life, even what your body does involuntarily (per se), the beating of your heart and the breathing of your lungs, it’s because God wills it. Even if a person does not want to believe in God, that person anyways exists because God allows them to exist.
And the third argument, and the one that should be the most convincing of all, is that the Lord gave Himself for all of us, even when we were His enemies, and far away from everything He is, as it is written: “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10. And He gave Himself without any kind of obligation. He did it all for love. God came to this world and dedicated all of His being while He walked in our likeness to do good for us, and even to die for us, giving Himself as the Holy and Pure sacrifice for all sinners, paying the price for all of His enemies on the cross. And there never was any complaining, as it is written: “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7. There is no being that is as good and merciful like God.
And so, we owe everything to the Lord. We owe honoring Him as the Supreme Authority, as the Creator of everything, as the Sustainer of everything, the One that even allows for us to live, and the One that gives us the possibility of having eternal life. And so, do you understand the right God has, by just how much you depend on Him? Lord bless! John