Altar of Sacrifice

“I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”   Romans 12:1

Serving God is not about us.  In Pastor Rick Warren’s book, A Purpose Driven Life, the very first words are, “It’s not about you.”  Many Christians today have made serving Christ all about what he can do for them and what blessings and riches they can get from Him.  In reality, Christian service is more about what we can give rather than what we receive.   Christ paid the cost for our salvation on Calvary so He already did His part. Our Christian walk is all about giving our life back to Him in service.  Pastor Jeff Garner once said, “Salvation is free, but being a disciple of Christ will cost you everything, even your life.”   So it comes as no surprise that we are called to be a “living sacrifice.”  Further, we are told that this is our “reasonable service.”  One translation says that this is our “reasonable worship.”   Animal sacrifices were common throughout the Old Testament. They were used for atonement and worshipful gifts unto God.  But now, God is calling us to be that sacrifice. He is calling us to lay ourselves down at the altar so He can perfect the inner parts of our heart in order to make us more Christ-like. 

As you lay yourself down on the altar of sacrifice, you are saying that your dreams, your will, your future, your hopes, your everything, is in God’s hands.  You are telling God that He can do whatever He wants to you.   Like Job in the Old Testament, you are saying Even if you slay me Lord, I will still trust in in you.  It’s not easy to place our lives in the hand of another and to put ourselves in that vulnerable place.  We’ve seen all too many times in this life, how people have used their power for evil and have taken advantage of those who were vulnerable.  Sometimes, we carry this fear into our walk with God.  The altar of sacrifice can be quite uncomfortable as those fears play over and over in our head.  We begin to question God’s motives and overall, His love towards us? Will God really give me His best if I surrender everything to Him?  Will He give me evil or good?  Will God really let me live if I place myself at His altar?  You would be surprised how many people feel like God is out to destroy them.   This is far from the truth.  Jeremiah 20:11 says, “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  The truth is, God does not want to destroy you, He wants to perfect you.  At the altar of sacrifice, He is testing your love for Him.  He wants to know that even if He does not give you what you want, that you will still serve Him and trust Him.  As God raises His hand on you, you lay there trembling, knowing that this situation may look like its meant to do you harm, but somehow, He will preserve you.  From the depths of your soul, you find the courage to trust His love for you. One song put it, you may not trust His hand, but trust His heart. 

On the altar of sacrifice, in your state of brokenness, you all of a sudden feel his soft gentle hands brush your tear-saturated cheeks and eyes. The Sovereign and mighty God who had the power to destroy you, to wipe you out with one gesture of His hand, did no such thing. He kept you. He may have broken you, but He put you back together.  It’s from that brokenness that the purest oil of worship will be produced.  He may have emptied you of yourself, but He filled you with more of Him. You are a living sacrifice.  It was messy and bloody, but all sacrifices are. Christ is our prime example of this. His body was wounded and bruised for our sin. He died the most humiliating and gruesome death on the cross.  Even when he was resurrected, the scars remained on him. Yet, what His sacrifice did for humanity was the most beautiful thing this world ever has and ever will see. My friend, it is in the aftermath of our living sacrifice where the beauty and the glory truly flows. On a side note, often, people want the glory of the cross without the sacrifice, but God will not use a life that has not been through the fire.  As you lay there, God begins to lift you up and embrace you.  His words drip like honey into your soul, “You do love me, you do love me.  You’ve trusted me and now I trust you. You are now ready for what I have for you.” 

I would like to share a poem I wrote about five years ago. I was inspired to write this after reading Romans 6:13 and Romans 12:1. I don’t think I fully understood at the time what it truly meant to let God have complete control of your life, I just knew that I desired that.  With every situation, I understand more and more that to truly serve Christ is to die to yourself daily.  Each day, we must lay ourselves at the altar of God in complete surrender to His will and His desires. I’m not all the way there yet, but I’m a work in progress.  Blessings!

Altar of Sacrifice

I am an instrument of righteousness

My melody is sweet

I yield all my members

Before my master’s feet

I die daily

My life is not my own

It is offered in sweet surrender

Before His almighty throne

I lay myself at the altar

As a living sacrifice

May He do as He pleases

With this vessel He gave life

When I begin to get weary

My desire to surrender begins to fade

I climb back on the altar

Again He gives me strength

I am an instrument of righteousness

My melody is sweet

I can do ALL things

Through Christ who strengthens me