9月24日         

標　　題：活祭

經　　節：所以，弟兄們，我以神的慈悲勸你們，將身體獻上，當作活祭，是聖潔的，是神所喜悅的；你們如此事奉乃是理所當然的。（羅馬書十二章1節）

神喜悅有價值的獻祭。在舊約時代，神詳細地指示自己的百姓如何獻祭。祂宣告，這些祭會以「馨香的氣味」來到祂的面前（利未記一：13、17）。當以色列人向神獻祭，那祭物不再是自己的，乃是完全屬神的。神只接受人們獻上最好的部分，若獻上有殘疾的動物，對神是公開的侮辱。就連神自己也符合祭品的標準，祂讓自己的兒子成為祭物，像一隻無瑕疵的羔羊。只有祂最完美的兒子，才足以為全人類贖罪。

現在，神要我們把自己的身體獻上，當作活祭。我們的獻祭一旦獻上，就不得收回，就像舊約時代一樣。我們完全屬祂。我們不能只獻上部分的生命，我們的獻禮一定得全心全意。

因此，如果你是一個基督徒，你的生命不再是自己的。然而，神不是要你去死，而是要你把自己當作活祭，為祂而活。每一天，你向祂獻上自己的生命，事奉祂。你不是有閒暇時才事奉祂，也不是用剩餘物資來事奉祂。你為神而活的生命，是你對祂的獻祭。持續不間斷地追求聖潔，好叫你對神的獻祭是無瑕疵，是神所悅納的（以弗所書四：1；腓立比書一：27；帖撒羅尼迦前書二：12）。

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).