Here is a popular text that I have heard in many sermons and Bible studies, but I am not sure I have ever heard it discussed from the view of a non-western culture. There are many verses we tend to explain as though written in our western culture and as a result we fall short of the mark. As we look at these two verses try to put yourself in the place of a believer under severe persecution. Paul says he has an urgent message for us and as we struggle to learn it he asks God to show us mercy. He then speaks of our bodies as being a living sacrifice. We are spiritually alive because we are in Christ and we are physically alive because we are still breathing and thus we have bodies that could be offered as a sacrifice. Being willing to offer our bodies in the face of persecution instead of denying that we are Christians, is seen by God as holy and acceptable and an act of spiritual worship. The view of the world, and many in the western church, is that this is a waste of a life, but to those who have been transformed by the renewal of their minds, it is an act of worship. In the face of persecution this resolve is tested and we discern that it is God's acceptable and perfect will that we pay the price of being faithful and present our bodies as a living sacrifice. How will we see these verses when called upon to face persecution?
Prayer
Father, when I think about these two verses in the context of the persecuted church in which they were written, I can't but help see a richness of application. Because of your great love you were willing to sacrifice your only son so that we could have salvation. Again and again I read reports of believers willing to sacrifice a family member to remain faithful to the Lord, but to endure such sacrifice, one must have a transformed mind that clearly understands what is holy and acceptable to you. Father, encourage us to learn from those being persecuted and help us understand the Scriptures that apply to their kind of living that they call normal.
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