offerings

Often as I read through the Old Testament I’ve been struck by the futility of pagan worship. The idea of making offerings to a carved rock or wooden idol, or some imagined force, seems so pathetic. People long so much for some sort of comfort or control, and without God they look for it in strange places.

This morning, though, I realized I do much the same thing. I was reading in Romans 6, and was struck by verse 13: “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.”

How often haven’t I offered part of myself to sin? I’ve made offerings of my lips and tongue to diminish others and puff myself up. I’ve made offerings of my eyes as I’ve read and watched things that promote worldly ideas and serve worldly agendas. I’ve made offerings of my brain and will as I’ve brooded on slights and fantasized bad things for my enemies.

Fortunately, those kinds of offerings are made less and less these days. By God’s grace, as I mature I make more and more of the other kind, offering myself to God for his purposes. These days, I’m more likely to make the mistake of not offering anything to anyone than I am to be an instrument of wickedness.

Still, it’s a reminder that there’s a pagan worshipper in me that’s only held in check by God’s grace.