Scripture Prompt
For You, Lord
I Offer All of Me
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 NLT)
I used to read this section of scripture and think it meant that I have to be perfect all the time. I tried subjecting myself to strict rules and limitations for how to behave and how to treat my body in order to please God. No tattoos, no junk food, no drugs, no suggestive clothing, no immoral thoughts, etc.
It’s true that God does not want us indulging in sinful behavior, but we are sinners. Hanging a bunch of restrictions over our heads tends to make the desire to indulge even greater. There is a better way, and that is to seek the Lord.
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7 NKJV)
I think what Paul is trying to convey in Romans 12:1–2 is this: don’t imitate what we see in the world around us. Instead imitate Christ. If…
