Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Spiritual Renewal Through Transformation

Bible Reading:  Romans 12:1-2

 

Key Verse: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”


DEVOTION

Imagine a butterfly. It’s a very beautiful creature; however, it didn’t always look that way. It started off as a caterpillar, a small wormlike creature that isn’t very pretty to look at. This caterpillar puts itself into a cocoon, digests itself into a goo, and then after some time, emerges as a beautiful butterfly. It is through this process of metamorphosis that the caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly.
 
In today’s scripture passage, we see a call to a different kind of metamorphosis – a spiritual transformation. This passage starts off by saying we must “offer [our] bodies as a living sacrifice” calling this our “true and proper worship.” In order to worship God, or give Him His worth, we must be willing to offer ourselves up. Every Sunday when we participate in Holy Qurbana, not only are we receiving the Body and Blood of Christ with the fellowship of believers, but we are also offering ourselves to the Lord for Him to use us. But what does offering oneself look like?
 
In verse 2 of today’s passage we see the call to not “conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind.” We live in a world now where it is only the need of the individual that is important. The music that we listen to, the media that we are exposed to, it all encapsulates the secular principles that one must look out only for the betterment of oneself. Hearing what God has to say can be quite difficult if we are unable to tune out what the world is saying to us.
 
Just as the caterpillar must surrender to the process of change, we too must surrender our will, our thoughts, and our actions to God, trusting Him to shape us into His likeness. Let’s pray for the strength to truly offer ourselves as a "living sacrifice," embracing a spiritual metamorphosis that brings us closer to Him each day.

 

PRAYER

Dear Lord, help us to offer ourselves fully to You as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing in Your sight. Help us to drown out the voices of this world and put our focus on You. Transform us so that we may abide by Your will and exude Your love in all that we do. Amen
 

Thought of the day

“Let God have your life; He can do more with it than you can” -Dwight L. Moody

 

Riya Varughese
St Andrews MTC, NY

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