“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. And be not conformed to this
world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” –Romans 12:1
& 2
Transformation
cannot come without their first being a sacrifice. We cannot be transformed, become fit vessels
to prove the perfect will of God, while simultaneously remaining conformed to
this world. If we love the world, then
we will be conformed to the world, and if we love God then we will be conformed
to God. Our nature is to love the world,
to that we must die, and become a living sacrifice. We must yield to God, in order to be
transformed.
It
tells us in Hebrews that “By faith Moses,
when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the
treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward (Hebrews
11:24-26).” Stop and imagine what
the man Moses must have looked like when he was a prince of Egypt. I suspect he was clean, and well
groomed. His clothes made of the finest
material available and fitted to his liking.
My mind imagines that he painted his face, like the women in that
country, to enhance his features. He probably
wore a year's worth of wages in jewelry around his neck and wrists, in his hair
and ears. His hands were likely smooth,
and his body showing no marks of hard labor or burden. He was a picture of vanity, comfort, and
affluence. The Bible says that he choose
to leave it all, to sacrifice it all.
That he choose the reproach of Christ, and had respect to the recompense
of the reward. He left Egypt and served
forty years as a shepherd in the wilderness.
Apparently, shepherds make good leaders.
After forty years in the wilderness, serving, and learning to lead. God called him from a burning bush and sent
him on a holy crusade to free His people.
I wonder, if anyone recognized the adopted Egyptian prince when he came
marching back into Egypt after forty years tending sheep. Do you think he looked anything like the man
the left? Not remotely. Most likely, his dress was plain, practical,
and modest. His hands callous, and face
weather ridden. His hair and beard, long
and untidy. The comforts and pleasures
he once enjoyed in Egypt, long since abandoned in his heart, and therefore, in
his life. He was no longer a man given
to this world, but rather, a man given to the will of God. He had become a living sacrifice. God had, and would continue, to transform
Moses into a great leader, but more importantly, a vessel fit to carry out the will
of God. No longer conformed to this
world, but renewed in mind, and proving the will of God.
When
we leave Egypt, give up the world, and turn away from sin; become living
sacrifices, God honors the sacrifice with His Holy Spirit and transforms us
from the inside out. What was once
carnal, sinful, and worldly; becomes spiritual, holy, and godly. When we once wanted our own will, not we are
transformed to desire His will in our lives, and prove it out in our actions. The change will be immediate, though the
totally of its affect in our lives ongoing.
The transformation, in a moment, though the implications, continuous. The sacrifice once for all, though we die
daily. Through it all, we must be living sacrifices, holy, acceptable, and not
conformed to this world; and because we are sacrifices we can be holy, renewed
in mind, proving the perfect will of God.
