Spiritual sacrifices 2 servant heart

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable (logical) way to serve. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may discern what is the good (beneficial) and acceptable (appreciated) and perfect (completing God’s highest goal for our life) will of God.

There is a logical way to sacrificially serve God and one another that has a higher goal than other goals of just being faithful and doing our duty, or even to getting some kind of calculated reward or ‘good deal’ out of it. That is why we are talking about spiritual sacrifice, which means that if there is something that takes us beyond our selves and into God and is so worth doing, it is worth giving up other things to have that.

And here we have a goal that transcends ourselves and our own needs.
The higher goal is being transformed into the image and likeness of God, with Jesus living within us to know and discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That ends up also transforming the world around us. We are here to make things better than what they are and that is worth doing, worth a sacrifice.

Well, how do we do that?
It is done by understanding that whatever we do, it can always be regarded in our spiritual conscience as ‘good’ and that God ‘appreciates it’ and that it is part of completing God’s highest goal for our life (the perfect will of God) which is to make us the best kind of person we were created to be and enjoying the blessings of his peace and love and joy in the doing and being of that (meditation). We give God all that we are, doing the best we can, aware and grateful for all of our limitations, and he makes us the best we can be. Our faith becomes the co-creative activity of doing life with God that results in the best that can be done. Tis is more of an adventure of discovery than mere duty of service.

Jesus compared the Old Testament total commitment offering, called the Burnt Offering to the total commitment in the New Testament of offering our bodies as a Living Sacrifice.
Hebrews 10:5 … a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure (those things did not tick the box to complete or perfect the goal). Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ (God’s will here means his heart’s desire for us that delights him and us)

Luke 17:5 …Lord increase our faith… This Scripture ends up with the story of servants doing their duty, knowing their place and not taking a place that is not theirs by wanting special attention in being served up their meal before the master had been served up his meal. He puts them in their place and they are called unworthy servants just doing their duty. None of us wants our shadowy self getting in the way and taking the shine off God’s work. And our serving him is not transactional in order to get for our self.

Each of us has a measure of faith, which is the faith necessary for each of us for our own particular servant life in our own particular circumstances and surroundings. That is our personal responsibility, not to be compared to someone else’s area of responsibility for which they get their faith and their grace and complete their goal in and with God.
We can fully believe and hope and expect that God’s supernatural power and love will be released and that we will share in the joy of seeing the result of God at work. Good things start happening that are beyond what we ask or think – wow. That is the logical way to serve and complete the highest goal in life that God has ordained for us. That is worth a sacrifice. That is a magnificent spiritual sacrifice.