I have a love/hate relationship with The Message. As a paraphrase of the Bible, I love that it awakens my perspective toward passages I’ve been reading my whole life, but sometimes it.. well… it seems to take some liberties.
So while keeping the actual Romans 12:1 in mind, The Message’s version gave it a punch of practical application that resonated with me this morning:
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”
My life has always been pretty ordinary. In fact, most of us are pretty ordinary. I’m in a new phase of parenting more independent children, but I remember the postpartum depression, Dora the Explorer’s freaky eyes and obnoxious cheerfulness, children screaming just because I want to pee alone in the bathroom, and the isolation of scheduling my life around nap time.
If you’re anything like me, these “precious moments” feel less precious and more tedious and mind-numbing at times.
But take heart: your everyday sleeping, eating, and walking-around life matters to God. He sees the ordinary things you do and receives it with joy because your ordinary life is an offering to Him.
So again, if you’re anything like me and spend a more-than-healthy portion of your day rolling your eyes, gritting your teeth, and barely enduring the day, I encourage you to take a deep breath, inhale the grace of God, and release your ordinary day to Him as an act of worship, however imperfect.
This was just the right thing to hear today, thank you.
I’m so glad. Thanks for letting me know.