A Living SacrificeSample

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." (Romans 12:15 ESV)

In this life of a living sacrifice, which is not about us, we start looking and acting like Jesus. For those of you with children, I think you know the joy of watching your children have joy. When they are rejoicing over some achievement or over a relationship or excited about a trip or anything else, we share in that joy.

Our Father is this way with us. He is a good Father who wants to give us good gifts. “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11 ESV) Once we are abiding in Christ and becoming more like Him, we will feel the same love of the Father for others, besides our own children.

Similarly, He gives us compassion just like He has. Whenever I speak at a funeral, I nearly always quote the famous words,“Jesus wept.”(John 11:35 ESV)This is the scene right after Lazarus had died. Jesus knew He was about to raise him from the dead, but when He saw His children weeping over Lazarus, it caused Him to weep. This shows how much He loves us.

Living sacrifices should attend the weddings to which they are invited and try to attend all funerals connected to people they know. These are opportunities to Live it Out, and besides weddings and funerals, there are opportunities every day, everywhere. I remind you of 1 Corinthians 12 where it talks about us being intimately connected to the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:26 ESV, it says, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”