Lay Down Your Life

by Donna L. Watkins

One of my husband's favorite Scriptures is Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Randal has a natural bent on being a servant and is so flexible and willing to sacrifice his plans to help another or in many cases simply to make me happy. God's greatest gift to me after salvation has been to provide me with a good husband. Have I always, or do I always feel that way about him? Of course not! We're married and have the same struggles as most folks in making that marriage work, but in my mind and heart I see God's blessing and gift by choosing this man for me.

It is said that opposites attract and that God matures us and builds character within us by giving us opposites for spouses. That definitely holds true for Randal and me. There's little similar about us other than a love for the Lord and His Creation. We think and process differently and have different learning/comprehending methods. Communication is not as simple as speaking or listening as many married people know.

So .... when this Scripture is quoted by a man who finds it easy to mold right into it, I sometimes feel at a loss for what God has for me in it. Long ago, we chose to get away from the sad American diet (SAD) and go back to the natural foods that God created for our bodies. We've been vegetarians for 28 years and getting rid of milk, sugar and white flour in the late 70's.

I consider it a living sacrifice to feed this body whole foods while the world around me enjoys all that is said to be good and delicious, even though it is not nutritious.

But what does living sacrifice really mean? When you're fighting a disease there are days that you just want to give up, and as Christians we'd like to spiritualize that with thoughts of giving up our lives for Christ. Lay down our life. Bear our cross. Share in the sufferings of Christ. All of those things are in Scripture ... but you also remember that healing is there too. Jesus bore our sicknesses and diseases so that we might be healed.

Healed to be a living sacrifice and to lay down our lives for the cause of Christ. We can't really do any of that if we give in to disease. God didn't put us in this world to lay down and die. God made us for fellowship and we aren't here to be sick and die. David wrote in Psalm 118, "“I shall not die but live, and shall declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the Lord."

Don't you give up on getting well!

It may be that we should sacrifice our agenda, schedule and control. Awhile back I wrote this to my aunt:

"We will do better in all aspects of life if we learn to "let go" of all we hold so tightly to and realize that control is a myth and striving for it is insanity."

The devil told God that he had a hedge around Job (Job 1:10). God has a hedge around us also. Job let the Enemy in by opening a doorway for him. God tells us, "Fear not!" What Job feared most came upon him (Job 3:25). Read the different translations of that Scripture:

NASB: "For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me.
GWT: What I fear most overtakes me. What I dread happens to me.
KJV: For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
ASV: For the thing which I fear cometh upon me, And that which I am afraid of cometh unto me.
WBS: For the thing which I greatly feared hath come upon me, and that which I dreaded hath come to me.

What are your fears? What won't you give up control over? What don't you trust God for and about? You must change your fear and worry into faith and belief.

God wants you well and Faith truly is the victory. Like Jesus said so many times, only "believe!"

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© 2007 Donna L. Watkins

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