This morning, I took the time to read a little scripture. I didn't know where to begin and the phrase
"present your bodies..." came to mind.
"I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable
service."
[Romans 12:1]
Sacrifices are usually costly and unpleasant. Throughout
scripture, a sacrifice was a bloody occasion. It's uncomfortable for the person doing the work of sacrificing
something and then to the thing being sacrificed. In much the same way in life,
WE are OFTEN faced with uncomfortable
and sometimes frustrating situations.
These won't go away. There are times and seasons for joy, and times and seasons
for pain (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). The challenge for us as believers (those who
choose to follow God and all His ways) will be how we choose to RESPOND to
life's challenges. Scripture offers us some insight into our response.
"...present your bodies..."
The word "present" comes from two Greek words that
mean to proffer, to hold to out to someone for acceptance. But each one of
those Greek words takes this idea even deeper. The first one means "to
stand", but the next one is thought-provoking. It's the Greek word
"Narkissos" where we derive our word "narcotic" which means
"to make numb". As I continued
to think about this it reminded me of a scripture that describes Jesus as being
quiet in the face of adversity.
"He was oppressed,
and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to
the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not
his mouth" [Isaiah 53:7]
This is not generally how we were taught to respond to
challenges in life. I mean the first thought that comes to mind when someone
accuses me is not to take it silently. But, the Bible often doesn't correspond
to our natural (carnal) response. Indeed,
we are admonished to be led by the Spirit and to NOT lean on our own
understanding (Romans 8:1, 14; Proverbs 3:5). Yet Jesus leaves us an example of
how to respond to our difficulties. The lamb being led to the slaughter gives
us a picture of ABSOLUTE SURRENDER. This notion of absolute surrender could be
a place of fear if we don't allow our minds to be trained by the Word of truth.
Surrendering to God is not enslavement, it's a place of
TRUST. For Jesus to have left heaven to dwell among men, to be rejected, and
brutally murdered was no easy task. I don't think we'll ever fully grasp the
physical and emotional pain with which he dealt. The pains of life are
unavoidable and hard to process at times. It is why often in our current
society narcotics are used to deal
with the pain. The interesting thing about narcotics is that the pain in your
body doesn't go away. Narcotics attach themselves to the pain receptors and can
block the feeling of pain. Jesus shows us a better way. He did NOT to
depend on His feelings and emotions amid hard trials. He chose instead to daily
trust.
"Though he were a
Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;" [Hebrews 5:8]
Perhaps our "narcotic", when faced with troubling
or uncomfortable situations, is TRUST. It doesn't take away sting and pain of
life, it simply makes it easier for us to deal. We may have to yield to God
things we long to hold onto, and we may have to embrace things that we don't
want to embrace. In EVERY circumstance our Father is there.
"So that we may boldly
say, The Lord [is] my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." [Hebrews 13:6]
The Lord is with us to help us get through the trials of
life. The question is, will we choose to
fully trust Him?
