Romans 12:1 “Logical/Reasonable"

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹I am urging you, therefore, brothers, because of the sympathies of God, to present your (pl.) bodies [as] a living sacrifice, holy, [and] well-pleasing to God, [which is] your (pl.) logical/reasonable act of worship.

In the last post, I noted that the last line of this verse, “…[which is] your (pl.) logical/reasonable act of worship,” gets translated a number of different ways. As I stated there, “I actually like the translation, ‘which is your reasonable service.’” Now, having recorded why I believe Romans 12:1 should be translated “your logical/reasonable service,” I’d like to explore what that means. 

First of all and most simply, I think it means just that. It’s only logical/reasonable! If you and I truly believe Romans 1-11, if we have truly embraced the amazing wonders of grace, then the only logical/reasonable response is that we should present our everything back to God. We know that “it is He who has made us,” who, in His great grace “forgives all our sins” and “heals our diseases.” How can we say anything in response, except “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me bless His holy name!” As the old song said, “How can I do less than give Him my best, when He has done so much for me?”

It’s just logical. It’s just reasonable. One thing that I learned very early in my Christian life was that ancient cultures were very different than ours. What I mean specifically is that, in America, you can say things like, “I believe in Jesus,” yet it has absolutely no effect on your life. I’m afraid that has been the ruin of faith in America, that so many people attended church, claimed to be “religious,” said they believe in Jesus, yet there wasn’t a fiber of their being that even remotely resembled Jesus. Those people were just as mean-spirited and hateful as you’d expect any lost person to be.

In America, that is possible – to say you believe something, yet show absolutely no evidence of it in your life. That was not possible in ancient cultures. To them, you could only say you believed something if everyone around you already knew it – by the way you lived. If you had asked any early Christian why they served God, they might wonder at your question, then reply, “Well, of course. How could I not?” To them it was just “logical/reasonable.” I suppose it is fortunate for us that Paul puts it this bluntly. Our generation needs to be told – it’s just “logical/reasonable.”

That’s probably as much as Paul means, but I’d like to take it a step further. Lest we allow even that to turn into some kind of “obligation,” I want to pause and think about how “logical/reasonable” it is to truly live for God.

As far back as Deuteronomy, the Lord would tell the people, “And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord  your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?” (10:12,13) Notice the “for your own good.” 

It has been said, “‘That it may go well with you and with your children’ is a recurring Biblical promise linked to obedience, honoring parents, and following God's commands (e.g., Deuteronomy 12:28, Ephesians 6:3). It emphasizes that obeying God's laws—such as honoring parents or respecting nature—brings long life, prosperity, and blessings for future generations.” That is our same thought, the “for your own good." Jesus said the same thing, “I offer you life, that you may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Think about it. In Galatians 5, what is life like when us humans decide to “go our own way”? “…hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy…” (vv.20,21). And what if we take Paul’s advice and “present our bodies” in service to God? What can we expect? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (vv.22,23).

Choosing to “serve” God is one of the most logical/reasonable choices you or I can make in this world! As I sit here pondering the matter, Scriptures flood my mind. “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” “All things work together for good to them that love God.” “Husbands, love your wives.” “And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and children to their fathers.” “And whatever you do, do it with all your heart…” “My peace I give unto you.” “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

The most logical/reasonable choice anyone can make is to “present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, and well-pleasing to God.” Why wouldn’t we? A life of love and joy and peace, or a life of endless drama and heartaches, broken marriages, constant friction, and all the rest. As I look at my own life, my family, I think of how the Lord said He would bless a thousand generations of them that love Him. There must have been some wonderful Christian people in our ancestry, because we are almost unbelievably blessed. Of course, sin is a horrible monster and can rear its ugly head in any family, but our entire family, on both sides, both our own kids and those of our extended family just enjoy a love and joy and peace that is clearly unusual.

It is heartbreaking to hear of the troubles in other families with all the divorces and unwed pregnancies, kids on drugs and in and out of prison, and all those other horrible things. Yet, we get to enjoy just the opposite. All the kids seem to be happily married and their kids are a joy to be around. There is only one explanation for that difference and that is the Lord. Without Him, we’d be no different than anyone else. In fact, I personally wouldn’t venture to claim the slightest credit for any of it. The Lord saved me and I certainly wanted to serve Him, but the sad fact is that I’ve been a miserable excuse for a Christian. He would have every right to wash His hands of me. Yet He hasn’t. Why not? Because He is our faithful, forgiving God. We “present our bodies” to Him and our spirits are willing, but, O Lord, our flesh is weak.

To “present our bodies” is actually not a commitment to stellar accomplishment. Rather it is to submit our lives to this Savior who is more faithful than we are! He promises, if we’ll let Him “begin a good work,” He will continue it! I personally take enormous comfort in His promise, “From birth, even unto old, old age, I will carry you.” I try to begin every day begging Him to carry me, to heal me, to help me “abide in the vine.” Then I go on failing, but He goes on faithfully doing me good, helping me to somehow do the right things at the right time, say the right things at the right time, and just somehow end up enjoying more and more of His presence and His blessings.

We make our feeble effort to present ourselves to Him and He gloriously takes it from there. Yes, it is the most logical/reasonable choice we can ever make!

This all leads me to two other thoughts. When you or I think about “serving the Lord,” I’m afraid there is a horrible “bait & switch” that undermines even our best intentions. I fear our minds go immediately to some sort of “mission” to halfway around the world, or volunteering for some new ministry at church. Those things may be all well in their place, but what about our “living?”

What about that “living sacrifice?” What about “husbands, love your wives?” What about, “And you fathers, bring them up?” What about, “Workers, obey your earthly masters with respect,” and “Bosses, provide your workers with what is right and fair?” If a baby needs its diaper changed, is that serving God or not? If Jesus was there, what would He do? If it’s time to mow the grass, is it loving to my neighbors to just let it go?

Jesus said it all (serving God) comes down to loving God and loving your neighbor. There is no neighbor closer than your husband or wife, your children, your workmates, your next-door neighbors. We rob ourselves of the real thrill of serving God when we forget that He wants us to simply live that sacrifice. “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” He tells us to “Make it your ambition to live a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands.”

If I could continue, the problem is, if we don’t “serve God” in how we treat those most immediate “neighbors,” we’re blowing the greatest ministry we could ever have. If I call myself a Christian, but don’t make sure my faith is directly impacting those closest around me, I’m missing my greatest opportunity to live Jesus. People need to hear the Gospel, but we “run-of-the-mill” Christians need more than anything to show them Jesus. God’s plan for His church is for us to live such lives of love and faithfulness (all day everyday) that we soften the hard, fallow ground of people’s hearts. That way, when they do hear the Gospel, there is at least some hope they’ll actually listen.

I fear for too long in the Church, people have been hearing “serve the Lord,” then missing the greatest ministries Jesus has for them – their “neighbors” – the people who live and work all around them. You and I should wake up every morning and tell ourselves something like, “I am a servant of the Most High God. My mission today is to love – whatever that might mean, whomever I’m with, to the best of my ability. God give me the wisdom to know how and the heart to make it happen.”

May we all be encouraged to truly “serve the Lord,” to truly offer our bodies to Him as living sacrifices! As we do, as we experience His love and joy and peace in the daily lives we live, we will more and more realize it’s just plain logical/reasonable!