Atlantic Baptist Women - Living Sacrificially by Esther Swyer


Living Sacrificially by Esther Swyer Written April 27, 2003 Leviticus 6: 8-13 Romans 12: 1,2 Hebrews 12: 1-4 What does it mean to live sacrificially? What does it mean to be a "living sacrifice"? How can we offer ourselves as a "living sacrifice"? In Lev. 6: 8-13 we have a picture of the "whole burnt offering". It was a voluntary offering, given wholly to God, signifying total surrender to God. No part of it was to be kept or eaten, and it was a daily sacrifice. The fire on the altar was never allowed to go out and was stoked with wood at night. In the morning new offerings were made, and on the burnt offering the fat of the peace offering was burned. That makes me think of the peace that comes from full surrender to God. In Romans 12: 1,2 we are told to present our bodies, wholly, as a living sacrifice" to God. In view of the mercies of God, and of all He has done for us, it is only fitting that we do so. But how to do it - verse 2 tells us we are to be transformed (not conformed to the world), but transformed by the renewing of our mind. Eph 4: 23 tells us to be constantly renewed in the spirit of our mind. (Amplified Bible) How do we do this? By filling it with the Word of God, and rejecting anything that would not honour Him. Heb.12: 1-4 reminds us of the sacrifice of our Lord - not only on the cross, but during the years before that, as He lived sacrificially on our behalf. His sacrifice didn't begin with His trial and crucifixion, but long before, when He came into this world as a baby - a son of man - when He gave up Heaven's glory for those 33 years. He became a living sacrifice to God as He walked in obedience and love for His Father and love for those He came to save. Heb. 12:4 reminds us that no matter how much we have endured as Christians, we have not yet come near to feeling, or enduring, what He did for us. So, as Romans 12:1 says, "it is only our reasonable service". The question still is - how do we live in such a way as to be a living sacrifice? Perhaps some questions will help:
Who is the most important person, other than God, in your life? How do you show it? If you had to choose between that person and your Lord, whom would you choose to stand with? How do you look at, or think about, or treat others, especially those who may not "measure up to your standards"? How much control does the Lord have over your money, especially if you don't have a lot, or if you don't have all you think you need yet? What does it mean to give - whether money, time, material things, service to others - what does it mean to give till it hurts? How much of your time is dedicated every day strictly to God - to His Word and fellowship with Him alone? How steady is your awareness of Him, how often is His Name on your lips, in your mind, in spontaneous worship and thanksgiving throughout your daily activities? If He should choose to change your plans for a day, are you able and willing to let Him, or do you push Him aside until you finish what You want to do? How willing are you to be a living sacrifice, continually, day by day?
Now how can we connect this passage in Romans to the one in Leviticus? The burnt offering, being a daily offering on the altar where the fire is never allowed to go out, speaks of being a continual offering to God. Just so our daily walk with Him should be one of a continual offering to God. The more we allow His Word to saturate our mind and heart, and the work of the Holy Spirit to transform us, the more aware we will be of His presence, and the more like our Lord we will become. The more we surrender ourselves to Him, the more our lives will become that daily sacrifice, and our entire outlook on our possessions, our time, on others, etc. will be transformed. And we will increasingly become a living sacrifice to Him. We will begin to realize that nothing we have belongs to us - and we will really begin to know how much we haven't given Him yet. Our whole life will become one continuous, spontaneous turning to our Lord in expressions of love, thanksgiving and praise - our conscience will become tender and we will be quick to repent and ask forgiveness. And our life will be marked with compassion toward others. I wish I could say I have reached the fullness of what I've written here, but I know I have not, and never will , completely, till I see Him in Heaven. But oh, how I want to be as much like Him as I can be down here. How far I still have to go. But one thing I have learned - If I willingly accept whatever He allows in my life, no matter how hard, and then give it back to Him in prayer, as a sacrificial offering, I find His peace flooding my heart, even in the midst of the turmoil. My question to you is - Where do you stand? Where do you want to stand?
about the author Esther Swyer was born in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. The eldest of eight children she married at twenty-one and promptly had six children. She became a Christian in October of 1958 at the age of twenty-five and was baptised in December of that year. She began teaching a Sunday School class of a dozen nine to ten year olds in 1961 or 1962 and has been teaching various age groups ever since. Esther began teaching adults and leading Bible studies sometime in the seventies. She became involved in WMS in the late sixties and held various positions over the years, then in the early to mid-seventies she started serving on the Association Council. On top of all that she was involved for many years in ladies retreats serving as small groups director for around twenty years. Currently Esther is president of the WMS on the Association level, treasurer of her church, adult ladies class teacher, and is completing her third year as a church deacon. Her first marriage ended after twenty-two years. She re-married thirteen years later in December 1988 and was widowed in June of 2000. She has eighteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Esther has just published a book about her spiritual journey.