Romans 12:1-3 - What more can i do?

I have read today someone ask the question “what more can I do for God” which in itself is a paradoxical question. There are many ways to answer that and all of them not in itself incorrect however if we actually look at what has been asked in context of our lives we realise that its not a question we can ever ask of ourselves or of God. You see, we should never stop trying to answer our first calling from God and that is to submit all that we are and to be like Christ. The bible says this;

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—this is your spiritual^[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

How can we obtain this aim, well it is possible and it should consume all of our time because of how difficult it is to do. It states in this passage not to confirm to what the world wants us to be, but how often do we find ourselves trying to obtain the latest fashions, gadgets or trends of the world? In itself that isn’t a bad thing, but we are called to be different. I’m not saying that you should put on some flares and wear a big hat with “kiss me quick, I’m Christian”, what I’m saying is that we should never look around and thing that we want to be like everyone else.

In a similar way, we shouldn’t think of ourselves better than everyone else because we are different. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you feel superior to someone because you’re going to Heaven, or even less likely to speak to someone because of their background or creed? I know I’ve been guilty of this, and I’m ashamed of that fact but God calls us to look at ourselves before even thinking about judging or assessing someone else lives. When we have obtained perfection, then we have the right to judge others, any of you perfect?

The beginning part of this passage talks about giving our bodies as a sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This doesn’t mean that you should slaughter yourself but to sacrifice all that you are and all that you have to God. We are called to sacrifice things for him, not when it pleases us or when we feel like, it talks about ALWAYS submitting to God everything, forever. I mean its not a small price to pay for eternity but its difficult faced in this culture which we are in these days where it talks about self gratification before anything else. Look after number one and all that Jazz.

In a nutshell this small passage should shape and fashion our ever part of our lives. Pure and simple, submit everything to God, don’t follow the herd and never think yourself better than anyone else. Easy eh? Not in the slightest but the bible also talks about having help in these things.

Romans 8 26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Do not loose heart if you cannot conform to God’s calling to you, however trying is 100% better than not trying. I know that I fail, every single day but because of God’s love and compassion I can pick myself, learn from my mistakes and keep pushing. Imagine if the first time you failed as a Christian, you just stopped and thought, “forget it”. Where would you be now? Use your own life as a testament to God’s loving and merciful grace to us.

Keep going. And in answer to the question “what can I do more for God”, everything. Pure and simple.

In Christ’s love and merciful grace, always interceding for our sin and the one who took all our mistakes and their implications on the cross.

Mikey.