A Living SacrificeSample

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them." (Romans 12:14 ESV)

Okay, wait a minute. It’s one thing to love my brothers in Christ or people who are seeking to get to know Him. But now Paul is saying to bless people who are persecuting us. This must be a supernatural thing because in our flesh, we want to fight back when people insult us, ridicule us, curse us, slander us.

This is only possible by Abiding in the One who modeled this. After being brutally beaten and nailed to a cross, our precious Lord Jesus said these words,“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34 ESV)What an amazing scene and unbelievable words. It tells us something. There is something I heard years ago that has stuck with me, “There’s always one more part to everyone’s story that we know nothing about.” Other quotes I’ve heard - “People are the way they are for a reason” or “hurt people hurt people.”

Jesus knew that all people are created in God’s image. (Genesis 1:27) That means there’s potential for good in all people, even the most despicable humans. And when we choose to bless and not curse, it confounds and affects people.

I love the story by Victor Hugo, Les Misérables. There is a scene when Jean Valjean, a criminal, is shown kindness and given refuge by a Bishop. Jean Valjean repays this generosity by stealing silver candlesticks from the Bishop. He is caught and the police question the Bishop, who says he gave him those as a gift. Later, the Bishop tells him, "Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God".

That encounter changed Jean Valjean’s life forever. That is the power of a living sacrifice life.