Tie me down, Lord!

I presume most of us are well familiar with Romans 12:1, which reads: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is you reasonable service.” (NKJV)

Or as the New Living Translation (NLT) puts it, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?”

We sing songs with such lyrics as “Make my life a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to You.”

The band, Casting Crowns, in their song, “Lifesong” has a verse that says: "Lord I give my life, a living sacrifice, to reach a world in need, to be your hands and feet.”

Darryl Evans' song “I Lay Me Down” has a line that says, “I lay me down, a living sacrifice to you.”

Craig Wallis, a worship leader with Vineyard Fellowship (I think), in his song, “Sacrifice” says, “I will be a living sacrifice, pure and holy in your eyes.”

Though I could probably mention many more, I think you get the idea. The words are much easier to sing than they are to actually live out. The reason being, it has often been said, is that “The problem with living sacrifices is that they seem to want to climb down from the altar.” Maybe that's true only in my life.... but I suspect that's not the case.

With these thoughts of presenting ourselves to God as living sacrifices, I point you to a line from Psalm 118:27, which reads in the NKJV, “Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.” Read that again. “Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.”

Now, the next time you sing a song about your life being a living sacrifice, and if you really mean it, take a moment to pause and pray... “Tie me down, Lord!”