I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1
Throughout history, there have been many acts of heroism in war. Perhaps the greatest examples came during World War II because it was such a massive conflict, but heroic acts continue today. Inevitably, when a soldier stands before his superiors, or even in front of the President of the United States to be rewarded, his comments are similar to those who had uttered before him. He doesn’t see himself as a hero. He sees himself as merely doing what he was trained to do – what “anyone else would have done in that situation.” He was only doing what he had been called upon by his country to do. To him, anything else would have been shirking the responsibility he had to his brothers on the battlefield. Knowing the caliber of men that the United States military can produce, these soldiers are not just saying those things to sound humble; they really believe them.
It is a shame that a lot of Christians do not feel the same way about their service to God, which is a much higher calling. They are not willing to give their lives in service to God, for that is asking far too much. Their life belongs to them, and no one, not even God, can ask them to give up the things that they are squeezing in their clenched fists. They completely forget all that God has done for them. They shove the fact that Jesus Christ left everything to become a man and die for them to the back of their minds. They hide in the recesses of their thoughts the reality that every single thing they possess is a direct blessing from God. All the things they can enjoy are only because the mercy of God allows them to enjoy those things. They go on with life, failing to realize that service to God is the only reasonable expectation after all He has done.
If unyielding Christians would only stop and think of all that God has done for them, they would recognize that serving God is only doing what “anyone else would do if they had been so blessed.” Is it so hard to take a couple hours on a Saturday to go knock on doors and spread the gospel to those who need to hear it? Is it demanding too much to expect us to invite our friends and family to Christ? Is it overbearing for God to ask us to get involved in the ministries of our church? The answer to each of these questions, of course, is “No.” God is waiting to reward us when we get to Heaven, but how can we think ourselves heroes? To do anything else is to shirk the reasonable responsibility that we have to a God Who has given us everything.
Read also: Romans 12:1-5
Quote of the day: “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.”