Romans 12:1-2

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2

That was a passage that I memorized while I was still in high school, and I think it is a verse that everyone needs to memorize! However, tonight my eyes were opened to deeper truths inside that verse. Three (3) key words were pointed out to me tonight; present, conform, and world. Now, those are easy enough words, but let me explain the deeper insight into them that I received tonight.

First is present. Now, that word is the same word you see over and over in Leviticus, where it talks about the different offerings. It refers to the act that the Levitical priests would do in offering up the sacrifices in the temple before God. They would put one hand on the head and pray for the offering and then physically raise the sacrifice up before the Lord, and it is that act that Romans is referring to. Raising your sacrifice, in this case yourself, as a fragrant aroma before the Lord. Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 where he says, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. " then again in Philippians 4:18-19, "But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." It is that same principles Paul talked about in Romans when he said to present your bodies a living sacrifice.

The second word is conform. What this is stating is a wrapping around and taking the shape of something. My neighbor does amazing "crafts" that they show off at craft shows all of Texas. Now I put crafts in parenthesis because this is their way of life, where they make their money. I love going over there and watching how they make so many of their amazing pieces, one in particular is when they get license plates and literally get a hammer and get the license to conform to this specific block of wood on which they will put the lamp. Now, I don't know how much license pounding you've done, but it is not as easy as it sounds. I mean think, it is a solid piece of metal, meant to withstand all types of conditions (including accidents) that they are wrapping around a 4x4 block of wood. I've tried it personally and it is not so easy. Well, once they have finally got everything where they need it, they get the nail gun to keep it in place. However, if for some reason the nail gun is not close and my neighbor has to find it, can just walk away and come back to the block of wood exactly as he left it, because the license plate is so attached to the wood at this point, that it would take some serious prying for it to come apart. That is the idea Paul is teaching in Romans. He is warning us not to conform, not to be molded and shaped to this world and become permanently attached but to transform ourselves by the renewing of our mind.

That brings me into that last key word; world. That word in Greek is a rare word to find in the Bible, but it means 'this age', this point in time; or how we would understand it, this fad. Paul is warning us not to get so swept away by this temporary place of residence. He is saying not become shaped and molded to mirror this passing fad. Think about it, how fast do 'fads' pass us by. One spring, blue is the color and so people go out and by everything blue they can, the next spring the color has changed to yellow and your blue clothes are not longer "in style". Or one season it is awesome to wear leggings, but then the next time around you are considered out of fashion, all within a blink of an eye. That is what this word is saying. Within a blink of an eye this world will be mere smoke. And just like we look back at pictures from our childhood and say "what was I thinking wearing that? How did you even let me out in public?" once we get to heaven, we will be looking back saying "man, I let that keep me from worshiping you? I was so focused on this that I missed you?" I know I don't want to look back on my life once I'm in heaven, and say "yeah, I was so caught up with my 40, 50, 60 years, that I lost sight of eternity and the things that matter most."

I know for me, I want to offer my life a fragrant aroma before the Lord and not be molded into this passing fad. I just pray you don't either.