A Living SacrificeSample

"For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." (Romans 12:4-5 ESV)

The beautiful thing about discovering this new life of being a living sacrifice is that we are not alone on this journey. We start meeting people and seeing people with new eyes. Some of them seem like someone we’ve known for a long time. We search our memories to see where we know them from, only to finally realize, we are seeing the Holy Spirit in them, the same Holy Spirit that we are getting to know. There is suddenly a kindred spirit with other living sacrifices.

Just as our Lord exists in three distinct beings, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three in One, One in three, He wants us to enjoy the beautiful creation called Christian community. This is one of the reasons He created the local church, so that we could find fellow believers and live in community. But we are not talking about an organization or a club. The church is to be a family.

Paul describes this connection among believers to be so close that it is as if our fellow members are part of a body, each indispensable, but with unique functions. But to get this close, it requires humility, transparency, and vulnerability, and many in our churches are still lost or they are believers who have yet to become followers, so it is complicated.

That’s why we, living sacrifices, need to take the lead showing the other members how to live. That means putting ourselves last, serving others first, loving people like Christ, even (and especially) those who are hard to love. One of the first places we should test out this communal living is at home. How’s our spiritual connection to our spouse and our kids? If it’s fractured, let’s start there before working on the rest of the body.