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Friday, April 29, 2005
Once again, from Chuck Swindoll's So, You Want To Be Like Jesus?
"The word Paul uses in Romans 12: 1, rendered "sacrifice," is the Greek term thysia. Interestingly he uses it sparingly, just a handful of times in all of his letters. That says to me that it was not a term he tossed around loosely or lightly, so we should sit up and pay attention whenever we see it. Thysia is the same word we find in the book of Hebrews, referring to the Old Testament sacrifices, looking toward what Jesus would do one day on the cross.
In Ephesians 5: 1-2, Paul calls for us to be like Christ, and he defines the kind of sacrifice we are to make of ourselves: 'Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.'
In that sentence, two significant ideas are placed side by side: offering and sacrifice, prosphora and thysia. Both picture someone giving up something. In each case the giver no longer has something that is valuable in his possession. But ther is a slight distinction, a subtle difference that makes all the difference. An offering is a sacrifice with an added element: choice. To sacrifice is to give up something for the sake of something else that is much better. An offering is a voluntary act. Christ made a conscious choice choie to offer Himself as an atoning sacrifice so that He might have us. We are to make that same choie for the sake of having Him in a more intimate way. Not to earn His pleasure or blessing, but as a means of deeply coming to know Him."
So, for today, what choices do you need to make to have more of Him in a more intimate way?
Brent 4:05 AM
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