Good morning,
What are you willing to give? That depends, doesn’t it? You may give $10 to a friend who asks you, but would you write a check for $1,000? You give 40 of your hours each week to your employer, but what if you were asked to spend 24 hours a day seven days a week at work? A bigger question is, what are you willing to give God?
We may give the Lord generous offerings of our income, time in His house tomorrow, and service in various ways in the congregation. But is that enough? Paul writes in Romans 12:1: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” Notice how Paul does not provide a list of things to do and give. Instead, he says simply, “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices.” In other words, living for the Lord is not a part-time lifestyle where we put in a certain number of hours and do certain things, and then we’re done and go off and do our own thing. It’s an “all-in” life and “all-out” effort.
It’s the life we want to live “in view of God’s mercy.” He gave His all for us in sending Jesus to be perfect in every way for us whose thoughts and efforts are never even close to His perfect standards. The holy Son of God gave His all, His very life, as the ransom payment to set us free from sin and death. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 Jn. 4:19). By faith we want to live for the Lord, not just in a few specific ways, but with our entire being. We fall short. Our sinful nature still trips us up, but in view of God’s mercy, we come to the Savior for forgiveness and even more gratitude and joy with which to serve Him.
Let’s make the most of this new day by offering ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing through Jesus. May we look forward to time with Him tomorrow around Word and Sacrament.
Yours in Him,
Pastor
Our fall schedule starts tomorrow:
Services: 8:00 and 10:45 a.m. Sunday school teachers will be installed in first service. The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated in both services.
Choir: 9:10 a.m.
Sunday school: 9:30 a.m.
Bible class: 9:45 a.m.
The public school confirmation class meets after second service at 12:15 p.m.
