Countless numbers of people today flock to various churchs, seminars, and conferences in search of personal benefits that they hope to receive. They do just the opposite of what Paul so plainly emphasizes in Romans 12:1-2. In this forceful and compassionate exhortation, the apostle does not focus on what more we need to receive from God but on what we are to give Him. The key to a productive and satisfying Christian life is not in getting more but it giving all. True worship includes many things besides the obvious ones of prayer, [praise, and thanksgiving. It includes serving God by serving others in His name. Sacrificial worship includes “doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased (Hebrews 13:15. Our supreme act of worship is to offer ourselves wholly and continually to the Lord as living sacrifices. Tragically, that is far from the approach that is so com on today by which believers seek the key to the abundant life. We are told that victory in the Christian life is to have more of God and to have more from God. In the deepest, eternal sense we cannot have more of God or from God than we, as believers, now possess. Most of us do not have the fullness of joy because we are looking for it in getting something more from God or others. The joy and satisfaction fpor which so many Christians are vainly striving for can only be had by surrendering back to the Lord what He has already given to us, including our inmost being. We are reminded in Matthew 22:37 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Loving worship, involves the giving of our very essence to the Lord for ministry, encouragement, and loving those who are around us. We do this not to obtain joy and satisfaction, we do this out of our love and gratitude to God for His salvation. The natural result is joy and satisfaction. Just as eating a good meal provides satisfaction and contentment, even though we eat for a different reason – we are hungry. We must remember that the satisfaction and contentment of eating wains with time unless we eat more. In a similar way, the joy and satisfaction of helping others fades unless we continue to present ourselves as living sacrifices.
