Belonging to God is an Activity / Romans 12:1-8
Now that Paul has laid out life with God that comes to us in faith and explained what is available to us in the grace of God and rejoiced over God including anyone and lamented those who aren't accepting the life offered, now it is time to get down to what to do. It's a common phrase when we are overloaded with information and have so many options; "What to do?"
There is plenty to do, but it needs some focus. So Paul starts us on the right path with many action verbs. "Offer" - there's a place to start - quit living for yourself and offer yourself to God. Lay down other small goals and causes and go all out for the only one that matters — offer yourself to God - that is worship. Now we have two action verbs that serve as parallels, to explain each other offer and worship. Worship by offering. Offer by worshipping. Live completely for God and for His pleasure ad glory.
"Do not conform" and "be transformed" are another set of parallel ideas. Do not conform is our action, something we choose to reject. Be transformed is something that is done to us, if we become willing to receive. So being transformed is matter of letting God change the way we think, the way we see the world, the awareness we have of Him and what He is doing. If our lives are offered to God, they are more about what He is doing that about us. So we desperately need a mind that can focus on God, know Him more and more and see what He's up to so we can offer ourselves strategically, effectively, in a way that brings Him glory.
Offering becomes so completely practical that it becomes something that fills all our time, in fact, something that takes our entire life. We are somebody, we have something, we can do something with it all - and so we have to have a mind that can say, "Here's what I am and can do and I see that God is doing these things in the world. I will use my entire storehouse to work with Him and do His will."
Our minds are going to need some help to get there. We need prayer and study and practice listening to God so that we know ourselves and Him and become able to get to work. God give us Your mind, the mind of Christ.
There is plenty to do, but it needs some focus. So Paul starts us on the right path with many action verbs. "Offer" - there's a place to start - quit living for yourself and offer yourself to God. Lay down other small goals and causes and go all out for the only one that matters — offer yourself to God - that is worship. Now we have two action verbs that serve as parallels, to explain each other offer and worship. Worship by offering. Offer by worshipping. Live completely for God and for His pleasure ad glory.
"Do not conform" and "be transformed" are another set of parallel ideas. Do not conform is our action, something we choose to reject. Be transformed is something that is done to us, if we become willing to receive. So being transformed is matter of letting God change the way we think, the way we see the world, the awareness we have of Him and what He is doing. If our lives are offered to God, they are more about what He is doing that about us. So we desperately need a mind that can focus on God, know Him more and more and see what He's up to so we can offer ourselves strategically, effectively, in a way that brings Him glory.
Offering becomes so completely practical that it becomes something that fills all our time, in fact, something that takes our entire life. We are somebody, we have something, we can do something with it all - and so we have to have a mind that can say, "Here's what I am and can do and I see that God is doing these things in the world. I will use my entire storehouse to work with Him and do His will."
Our minds are going to need some help to get there. We need prayer and study and practice listening to God so that we know ourselves and Him and become able to get to work. God give us Your mind, the mind of Christ.
