In View of God's Mercy

 

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God…”

—Romans 12:1a

Have you ever had a close friend or family member who has sacrificed so very much for you that no matter what you might do for that person in return it would hardly be any sacrifice at all on your part? I think about my parents who adopted me as a baby boy, born to a woman who had an affair with a married man who, once she became pregnant, wanted no part of her. My adoptive dad was 40 and my adoptive Mom was 42 when they welcomed me—a six-weeks-old baby—into their home. They made so many sacrifices to assure I would have every opportunity to succeed in life. Anything that I might do in return, no matter what the cost, would hardly be anything at all compared to the sacrifices they made to secure the very best for me.

I am sure this same scenario has played out millions of times in homes throughout the world, where loving parents give so much of themselves to their children, that those sacrifices seem nothing more than the very thing they expect to do as parents. If ever there was an indication of the value of a nuclear home with a man and woman united in marriage who raise children in a climate of love and unending care, the testimony of children raised in such homes stands as a stark validation.

Thus it is with our Heavenly Father. God gave us His one and only Son to die in our place and pay the penalty for our sins. There is nothing that we could do in return that could come close to the investment that God has made in us to secure the very best for us. The Apostle Paul fully understood this fact when he wrote these words in his letter to the newly formed church in Rome, as recorded in Romans 12:1-2:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

“In view of God's mercy”—what a motivating factor this phrase represents, particularly as we begin a new day. God has done so much for us that the least we can do is to give Him our all.

 

Based on a blog originally posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2015

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