9月24日
标 题：活祭
经 节：所以，弟兄们，我以神的慈悲劝你们，将身体献上，当作活祭，是圣洁的，是神所喜悦的；你们如此事奉乃是理所当然的。（罗马书十二章1节）
神喜悦有价值的献祭。在旧约时代，神详细地指示自己的百姓如何献祭。祂宣告，这些祭会以“馨香的气味”来到祂的面前（利未记一：13、17）。当以色列人向神献祭，那祭物不再是自己的，乃是完全属神的。神只接受人们献上最好的部分，若献上有残疾的动物，对神是公开的侮辱。就连神自己也符合祭品的标准，祂让自己的儿子成为祭物，像一只无瑕疵的羔羊。只有祂最完美的儿子，才足以为全人类赎罪。
现在，神要我们把自己的身体献上，当作活祭。我们的献祭一旦献上，就不得收回，就像旧约时代一样。我们完全属祂。我们不能只献上部分的生命，我们的献礼一定得全心全意。
因此，如果你是一个基督徒，你的生命不再是自己的。然而，神不是要你去死，而是要你把自己当作活祭，为祂而活。每一天，你向祂献上自己的生命，事奉祂。你不是有闲暇时才事奉祂，也不是用剩余物资来事奉祂。你为神而活的生命，是你对祂的献祭。持续不间断地追求圣洁，好叫你对神的献祭是无瑕疵，是神所悦纳的（以弗所书四：1；腓立比书一：27；帖撒罗尼迦前书二：12）。
A Living Sacrifice
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to
God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)
God takes great pleasure in worthy sacrifices. In
the Old Testament God gave detailed instructions for how His people were to
give their offerings. He declared that these brought a “soothing aroma” to Him
(Lev. 1:13, 17). When the Israelites gave an offering to God, it was no longer
their own, it belonged entirely to God. God would accept only the best that
people could give. It was an affront to almighty God to offer Him animals that
were damaged or imperfect in any way. God Himself met the standard for
sacrifices when He offered His own Son as the spotless Lamb. Only the death of
His perfect Son was a worthy enough offering to atone for the sins of mankind.
Now, God asks us to lay down our lives on His altar
as a living sacrifice. Just as it was in the Old Testament, our sacrifice, once
offered, cannot be reclaimed. We belong entirely to Him. We cannot make a
partial sacrifice of our lives; our offering must be wholehearted.
Therefore, if you are a Christian, your life is not
your own. Rather than dying, however, God asks you to live for Him as a living
sacrifice. Every day, you are to offer your life to Him for His service. You do
not serve Him in your spare time or with your leftover resources. The way you
live your life for God is your offering to Him. Relentlessly pursue holiness so
that your offering to God is unblemished and acceptable to Him (Eph. 4:1; Phil.
1:27; 1 Thess. 2:12).
