Free to Give by David Jeremiah

Friday, January 26 Free to Give    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 service.  Romans 12:1    It’s an old illustration, but a good one: You will never see a U-Haul® trailer being towed by a hearse. The deceased own nothing; control of their possessions passes to others.

Recommended Reading: Philippians 3:7-8

Now consider the metaphor Paul uses in Romans 12:1 to describe the life of the Christian: “a living sacrifice.” What does Paul mean by that? He means that the Christian dies to self and self-interest when he becomes a servant of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1). Paul himself was an example of a living sacrifice, saying he counted all things in his life as loss, as rubbish, except for pursuing Christ (Philippians 3:7-8). Therefore, if we have died to self, like a person who has physically died, we have lost all attachment to worldly goods. What God gave to us we release back to Him. Therefore, we are free to give as He directs. Are you living as a sacrifice to God? If so, as His servant, let Him direct your use of what belongs to Him. There is nothing the Christian life suffers more from than the subtle and indescribable worldliness that comes from the possessions of this life.  Andrew Murray