In that wonderful book of Romans, Paul hammers out so many wonderful truths,having done that, in chapter 12 ,it starts with the word ,'Therefore ', in the light of the great truths of salvation,to both Jews and Gentiles, the fact that we are no longer condemned,and the tremendous security we have in Christ,and that nothing seperates us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (8 v 35-39) there should be a response to that,Paul first of all reminds us,'In veiw of God's mercy,we should offer our bodies as a living ssacrifice,holy and pleasing to God,this is our true proper worship'.One word I use continually is mercy,and I rejoice that God in his mercy saved me,not only that,he give me a new life.When the hymn writer wrote of the cross he said ,'Love so amazing so divine demands my soul ,my life ,my all'.That is what we are challenged with in these opening words of Romans 12, to offer our bodies as living sacrifice, yes our bodies,'holy and pleasing to God'. John Stott writes the following,'No worship is pleasing to God which is purely inward,abstract and mystical; it must express its self in concrete acts of service performed by our bodies'.We all must all become motherTeresa's,again as John Stott writes,' That our feet will walk in His paths,our lips will speak the truth and spread the gospel,our tongues will bring healing,our hands will lift up those who have fallen, performing many mundane tasks; our arms will embrace the lonely and unloved,our ears will listen to the cries of the distressed,and our eyes will look humbly and patiently towards God'.
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