Our best we give for worship

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 God delights when we honor Him with our worthy sacrifices. In the Old Testament, He provided the Israelites instructions on how they come to His presence. Though they were offering animal sacrifices, God expected them not to take for granted coming to Him for worship. He accepts worthy sacrifices that are pleasing before Him. “It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 1:13, 17). The idea is that once offered to God, it belonged to Him. This is why He is after our best to be offered to Him. He does not take pleasure when His people take for granted their relationship with Him. They manifest such action when they neglect making Him a priority when they come to Him to worship. “You have shown contempt for my name! “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’ “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. “Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’ “You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect” (Malachi 1:6-7). It was an insult to Him when we take for granted the time we come to Him in worship. When God showed His love to us He offered His best so we could receive eternal life. He offered His own Son who is perfect and without blemish. In order for our sin to be forgiven, it required a perfect sacrifice and our Lord Jesus Christ was the only one who could atone for our sin. Since God gave His best, He is asking us to also give our best. He is asking us to lay ourselves in the altar as a living sacrifice. Once you surrender your life to God, you should not reconsider the action you took by reverting back to your old life. This is also what Peter told the believers that because they thought well of God’s offer of new life, they now know better that they could not go back to their old ways. “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then” (1 Peter 1:14). When you claim that your life belong to God, you cannot make partial sacrifice by demanding your own ways and satisfying your selfish desires. God is asking you to offer your life as a living sacrifice and the way you live the life He gave you is your act of worship. Do not just serve Him when you feel you like it or when you have spare time for He is not pleased when you are giving just your leftovers and not your best.

Blessings,