When you see “therefore” pay attention. It points back to the doxology before. Paul urgently reminds Christians “in view of God’s mercy”. What view do you have from your house? My friends in Colorado can see Pike’s Peak from many miles away. In El Paso, I saw signs for “Desert-view” property. A country and western singer once offered Oceanfront property in Arizona (unlikely, right?). No matter where you and I live, we are in full view of God’s mercy. With mercy in view, what shall we do?
Eugene Peterson translates, “Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering”. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. God is not interested in a compartment or a portion of your life. Take your whole life and give it to God who gave his whole life for you when Jesus died on the cross. In other words, don’t fret about what you put in the offering plate, just get in. If you are in the plate, God will have what he wants!
Of course this life sets us apart from others, and we should be. God’s people are called to be set apart for God’s higher purposes. We may love our lives and the world we live in, but we cannot ultimately conform to the sinful pattern of the world around us and please God. God’s work in our lives is not finally transactional (quid pro quo – “you scratch my back . . .”) but transformational. God is out to make something out of us. To change us, God must first retrain our brains. He renews our minds. With our heads on straight we can test and approve what God wants for our lives. Be sure of this: God is not out to hurt us but to help us become more than we ever dreamed. God is good so of course what he produces in our lives will inevitably be good.
