Get Your Hands Up

“Therefore. I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:1-3

Some of you know that once upon a time when I was younger, I spent ten years working at a Department of Energy research facility as a security contractor. Federal arrest authority, special response team training, pursuit driving, proficient with multiple weapons and fully prepared to do whatever might be needed in order to protect the facility, the people and the research. We were trained to yell “GET YOUR HAND UP!” as we confronted a subject. If their hands went up and they complied with our next instructions, we would take it as a sign of surrender with the understanding the arrest would likely happen without further incident. Around the world police shout for subjects to get their hands up, to surrender to their authority. I was thinking about this as I started reading Romans chapter 12.

Paul writing to the followers of Christ in Rome opens chapter 12 in some ways with “Get Your Hands Up” statement. Calling on the audience of his time and to us today to offer our bodies as living sacrifices – to surrender our lives in a way that is holy and pleasing to God. In my opinion this is not a once and done sort of call, this is a daily call on our lives as believers.

Every day we need to lay down our lives, our sense of what’s right and not right and allow our minds to be made new. To allow our minds, our hearts, our eyes, our ears to see and hear the world and respond to it according to God’s standard of right and wrong, God’s expectation of worship, God’s standard of mercy and grace.

We need to renew our sacrifice, our act of surrender daily cause let’s face it sometimes the world and its trappings look pretty inviting. But the strains of the old song “This world is not my home I’m just a passing through” ring true for those who have surrendered their lives for the new life offered by Jesus.

How do we do that, how do we get our hands up and lay our lives down? There are lots of ways and they all work together. Read God’s Word and take it to heart. Listen to music that speaks of His goodness, power and love. Treat people well, even when they are mean to you. Show mercy and grace as opportunities arise. Pray, pray, pray that the Holy Spirit will give you direct and guide every step you make. Allow God to give you an attitude adjustment when you need it and to prune you so you can grow and bear more fruit. Finally, share all the amazing things God has done for you with those around you so that He will be glorified and they might decide to follow Jesus.

A Prayer
Father – forgive your people when we choose to live like we have surrendered to this world. Remind us of the grace and mercy You showed us when we first believed and decided to follow Jesus. Help us Lord, every day to get our hand up and lay our lives down as living sacrifices. May we serve you with humble and overflowing hearts and with minds that have been made new. In the name of Jesus, who laid down His life so that we could truly live – Amen.