This is one of my favorite scriptures. Paul, the author of Romans, starts these verses by talking to us about God’s mercy. The punishment for our sin should have been separation from God. But because of God’s mercy, Jesus took our punishment instead. Our response to that mercy is our lives. We now offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God, and through this submission, we participate in worship.
In the ancient world, people would give sacrifices as atonement for sins, individual or communal, and to ask for something. This could be a dove, a lamb, or another animal. It was not only ancient Jews, but many other pagan religions would use this type of ritual. The original readers of this letter were very familiar with sacrifice. It meant blood, and it meant death. Additionally, in many pagan religions, these sacrifices were often made to appease gods or to seek the will of a specific god. However, Paul is pointing out that our God wants life, not death; He wants relationship, not religion.
Through submission, we not only get to participate in worship but we are also transformed. Our minds are made new through the power of Christ. With this renewal, we can see more clearly God’s will.
To me, these seem like stones. The first stone is understanding that I deserve punishment, but Jesus took that punishment instead. The next stone is submitting my whole being to God as an act of worship because of His mercy. The next stone is allowing Jesus to renew my mind, my very way of thinking. The last stone in these verses is seeing what God’s perfect will is, not for my benefit, but for God’s benefit.
As I stack these stones together, I create a new altar. Not an altar of death and blood, but an altar of life and worship.
God, thank you for your mercy. We do not deserve that mercy, and yet you gave it to us anyway. We submit our lives to you and we ask for you to continually renew our minds. Remove the things that are not of you and replace them with your will for our lives. It is in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.