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. Do not conform 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. (NIV)

Romans 12 – Paul’s message on living the Christian life – is iconic. Foundational. Every sentence in Romans 12 is drenched in fundamental truths for the church.

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Today’s “sticky note” we’re using as a lens for this passage says, “God, make an impact on struggling marriages.” Combining our keystone scriptural text with a focus on hurting marriages makes for a heavy devotional study. Buckle up!

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We’ll start by breaking the text into its three sentences. I’ll paraphrase them one by one.

1. Paul urges Christians to worship God by offering their bodies as living sacrifices.

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What does it mean to offer our bodies as living sacrifices?

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Well, we’re probably familiar with Old Testament sacrifices. An act of sin would demand punishment, and God would accept a slain animal as a substitute so the worshiper could continue their relationship with God. When “Christ, our Passover lamb, was sacrificed” (1 Cor 5:7), he was the perfect sacrifice for all time. The work of atonement was complete.

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So that passage doesn’t mean we can physically die and atone for sins, because Jesus already did that. Plus, it says, LIVING sacrifice. What’s that?

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The way you live is an act of worship. I can’t put it better than John Piper: “God wants visible, lived-out, bodily evidence that our lives are built on his mercy. Just as worshipers in the Old Testament denied themselves some earthly treasure (a sheep, a goat, a bull), and carried their sacrifices to the altar of blood and fire, so we deny ourselves some earthly treasure or ease or comfort, and carry ourselves — our bodies — for Christ’s sake to the places and the relationships and the crises in this world where mercy is needed.”

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All right, sentence two:

2. Don’t conform to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

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This part may be easier to grasp but still a challenge to execute. The Greek for transformed is metamorphoo, which looks familiar. It shows up once in the gospels when Jesus is on the Mount of Transfiguration.

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This transformation is the opposite of being conformed to the world. Believers must think differently. And it’s not like changing gears on a bike. It’s not shifting between a secular worldview and a Godly one – it requires a complete metamorphosis. It’s a constant pursuit of God’s truth.

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Sentence three:

3. Then you will be able to discern God’s good, pleasing and perfect will.

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This one makes simple sense given the buildup. If we worship God with our bodies as living sacrifices AND we transform our renewed minds by rejecting the patterns of the world, THEN we will have all the tools we need to identify God’s will.

Here’s where we’ll mix in the rigors of marriage. Sentence one was concerned with our bodies and sentence two was concerned with our minds. Bodies do things and minds think things. Committing our actions and our thoughts to God reveals his will to us. So, to build a healthy marriage, husbands and wives need to pursue God’s will through actions AND thoughts.

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Struggling marriages require nothing short of active sacrifice and mental transformation, together seeking God’s will for our lives. This does not sound simple, but Paul never promises us simple. Paul’s the man who was imprisoned, flogged, lashed, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and starved. He was committed. He committed his body as a living sacrifice and renewed his mind to transform his life and pursue God’s will.

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Living sacrificially applies to our roles as friends, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives – we’re called to glorify God in all our relationships, to put the needs of others before our own.

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But the world tells us to live for ourselves, to take care of #1, to “treat yo self!” The world is not interested in sacrifice, especially not in marriage. Today’s culture would even say sacrifice, humility, or submission in marriage are forms of oppression. But conforming to today’s culture leads to brokenness – just look around!

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God can impact your struggling marriage, or any kind of relational struggle in your life. Remember, Paul was called to singleness, so this passage is not only for the married crowd. Jumpstart your paradigm shift and cast your anxieties on him. Make the next action you take and the next word you speak an act of worship.  

Dear God, I mess up; I stumble constantly. Please take over my life. I want to worship you well and glorify you. Give me the strength to live sacrificially. Renew my mind. I want to know your will.  (If you’re married – Lord, bless my spouse. Help me to love him/her well and put their needs above my own.)  Help me to show your love for others through my actions and thoughts. I love you, Amen.