Romans 12:1, 2  Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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. (NIV)

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These two verses became important to me when I first started leaning into discipleship as a college student. Every discipleship study that I participated in used these verses. Every discipleship book expounded on these verses. Every Bible memory program included these verses. These verses showed up over and over and over and over and over again. 

It got to the point that I preferred to ignore these verses as if I had somehow mastered them and moved on to deeper truths on a higher plane, whatever that means. 

It took me a while, but I finally figured out something important. Some verses, like these, are worth studying again and again. They reward ongoing reflection. There is gold to mine even after you think you’ve gathered all the riches available. 

Consider the phrase right there in the middle: “this is your true and proper worship.” If we define worship by what was said in the words leading up to this, it is more about how we live and think than something we attend in a group on Sunday morning. Sunday morning worship is important, but it’s not the only worship we should engage in. 

Because of God’s amazing grace and extravagant mercy, we’re to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. This is worship. Worship sounds a lot like repentance, doesn’t it? It’s like turning away from how we ordinarily think about this old world and all the people in it, and starting to think about it as God does. We start behaving toward the dirty, rotten scoundrels around us as God behaves toward us.

We stop grabbing for all we can get and start giving as generously as God has given to us. We start bringing Jesus into every thought, every conversation, every activity. We stop thinking, “WWJD? (What would Jesus do?)” and start thinking, “What would Jesus do if he were me in this moment, right here, right now?” 

This can be difficult. I guess that’s why Paul called it a living sacrifice. 

I was in college, working at the campus radio station, when I learned that some songs can run for thirty minutes or more. These old songs from our ancestors patiently told long stories of heroes, families, major events, and daring deeds. If you’ve read The Lord of the Rings, you’ve encountered something of these types of remembrances. 

Whereas once upon a time, Top 40 Radio meant you crammed as many three-minute songs into an hour as you could, these ancient songs were sung for hours to tell a complete story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. 

Here’s a thought for us: What if our worship was less like a Top 40 song and more like an epic poem? What if it was less about singing three snappy tunes and more about living a life worth celebrating in song? 

How would a troubadour tell your tale? What would he or she celebrate about your walk with God? Which of your characteristics would be held to the light? How would your life demonstrate God’s amazing grace and His extravagant mercy? 

What gold are you mining from these verses? 

There is much to explore here, isn’t there? You might start by memorizing these verses. Then you could ponder them regularly. Then you could record your reflections. Then you could deeply integrate these truths into your life. That’s how to live a life worth celebrating with song.

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I will live a life of true and proper worship.

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Our Father, empower me to live a life that, upon reflection, demonstrates worship. Empower me to live a life that, when people look back, shows what you did with a single lump of clay to craft something useful for your kingdom. Empower us to live lives others will remember with heartfelt tunes that help people see how good you are, even to ordinary people like us. Amen.