My Reasonable Service
Wave your flag. It is our duty...to present ourselves as a living sacrifice…that is our reasonable service. Although we have just celebrated the birth of Christ, 2016 was an election year as well. Many felt compelled to do their reasonable service by voting. So how, do you ask, can we as women, (daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers) find time or another way to do our "reasonable service?" Reasonable…what does that mean? Hmmm…When I think of the word reasonable, the first thing that comes to mind is cost. How much something is; what is it worth? What is a reasonable price? What's a reasonable request? When I go shopping and I see a deal, my automatic response is, “That’s a good price! I can’t believe I got those shoes for that!” (Don’t you love how I immediately associated a good price with shopping and shoes?!? HAAAA!) Anyway, I must digress…let’s press on to “reasonable.”
Reasonable: adjective rea·son·able \ˈrēz-nə-bəl, ˈrē-zən-ə-bəl\
a : being in accordance with reason <a reasonable theory>
b : not extreme or excessive <reasonable requests>
According to the definition in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the word simply means not extreme or excessive. Basically, nothing ridiculous, unbelievable, outrageous; just a regular request, thought or action. Something sensible and within a realistic scope of things.
With that being said, as I sat in my church’s New Year’s service, I listened to my Pastor read Roman’s 12:1 and it brought me to tears...
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (KJV)
I realized (and not for the first time,) that the LEAST I can do for the King, the Most High God, is to give Him everything that I have to offer. Why? Because, when I think of the things that God has given to me, like new mercies everyday, you know, second chances, peace, joy…EVERLASTING LIFE… grace that is given to me when I don’t deserve it…how can I not offer my worship? How can we not worship, give our minds, bodies, souls and lives to the one who gave us all of those things? Let's think about this...how many people can give a gift and in return receive the exact same gift? It is hard thing to do. Even if I buy my friend the exact gift that they bought for me, I can't give that gift with the same heart and intention no matter how hard I try. I can't accomplish that because we are all slightly different. However, we can do that very thing with God, because we are made in His image. God gave His son, Jesus. Jesus gave His life, so that we may live eternally. All we have to do in return is to worship and adore Him. His life for my life. One gift given for the exact gift in return. Today, let your voice, whether it is used literally or written, be a way to magnify Him. Use your life as a tool, a "voice", to magnify Him.
The Choice
1 Peter 2:9
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (NIV)
Of all the gifts I have been given, I choose my voice and my life to lift Him higher. My choice is what makes the difference. That is MY reasonable service. The choice to accept the calling on my life. When we make that choice, that is what separates us from the world. My voice, singing or in written word, in my opinon is one of my best gifts. Each time I prepare for worship, my prayer is that if there is anything not like God within me, I ask that it be removed. I pray that people see God through my worship. I pray that they feel His power through my worship. I pray and thank God for the opportunity to usher the presence of the Holy Spirit wherever I am…because that is my reasonable service.
I realize that not only my voice, (rain or shine) but my entire life is a part of my reasonable service. Every word that comes out of my mouth, every word that I write, every gesture, every action, every ounce should be a reflection of who He is. So for you, think on what your reasonable service may be. Reflect on what gift you can give back to the King; to the Kingdom. Is it your kindness? Is it your example or your willingness to reach out to someone who is in need? Whether you sing, write, play an instrument….if you teach or you simply share a smile, your life is your reasonable service. Whatever it is that you can offer to your home, your community, your city....to the world. Take the vision that's inside of you to find ways to do your reasonable service. Write the vision in your journal, share it with a friend, your family. Allow that vision to flow through your little ones or nieces, nephews, any young person that you may play a part of their lives. We want the work to be passed from generation to generation. We want the world to know the name of Jesus. That can be shared by the vision that God has given to each and everyone of us. Remember, where there is no vision there is no sight. Without sight, it is hard to find direction. Without direction there is no movement. We are a people of promise...we must always keep moving for Him.
In the end, reasonable is relative and when you really sit back and think of the sacrifice that was made on the cross…the cost, the debt that was paid for us to have eternal life, there is nothing that we have that could ever equal the cost of the cross. I am thankful that everything I have is worth laying down at the feet of Jesus. Just knowing that every day I wake up and am granted another opportunity to render myself holy, because He says I am enough. That qualifies me to offer Him my reasonable service. Rising every day is my chance to present a living sacrifice. Living. A sacrifice that can be repeatedly offered. A sacrifice that can perform the duty it was created to perform, worship. In the days before Jesus, animals were used as a sacrifice to offer to God. Now, we can be that living sacrifice...We were created to love Him. That love is shown each and every time we choose to offer ourselves to others in the image of God. We are lending ourselves as living sacrifices and that, my friends…is our reasonable service.
Colossians 3:17
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him (KJV)