The word reasonable is defined as not being excessive or demanding. It is fair and practical. We want people to apply this meaning to how they view us. We want them to treat us fairly and be practical when dealing with us. We don’t want them to expect excessive results from us or be demanding. We want people to be reasonable.
Romans 12:1 says God expects reasonable service from us. Paul starts this chapter with the word beseech. It means to call near, to invoke, or to beg. It is a strong word that encourages us to live for God. I remember reading this one day, and it hit me: My full surrender is only reasonable.
Paul first tells us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. A sacrifice in the Old Testament was usually an animal slain as an offering for sin. For the animal to be sacrificed, it must die. We are to be a living sacrifice. This offering releases all claims and rights to our lives. We are to live with all decisions and desires submitted to His will. We are to be alive in our physical bodies, but our love and gratitude to God should be so strong that we live to please Him, not ourselves.
This sacrifice must be holy. In the Old Testament, the sacrifice must be without blemish or defect. The Jews were forbidden to offer anything less. They were to give their best; otherwise, God would reject their offering to cover their sins. This word means we are to be set apart and consecrated to God. This is what is acceptable to God.
These requirements were what was reasonable to God. To many, this seems excessive, but to God, it is not demanding or excessive. It is the minimum requirement. It is not a religious ceremony strictly done out of a requirement by law. It is worship that starts with a mind and heart that is consecrated to God. We offer ourselves out of love, which is not forced or constrained. We understand that all that we are or ever will be is to be given back to Him. After all that He has done for us, it is only reasonable to offer complete surrender to Him.
Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Paul proceeds to verse 2, where he tells us how to live a reasonable life for Christ. We are not to be conformed to this world. In Ephesians 2:2, Paul teaches us who the ruler of this world is. Satan is the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” We are not to yield to the pressures or the enticements that the world sees as ok. Our world says homosexuality is ok, but God’s word says it is a sin. God’s word says that immodesty is a sin, but the world says it is ok to expose your body depending on the circumstances. God’s word says lying is a sin, but the world says it depends on the circumstances. I could go on and on as to how we tend to fit into this world’s philosophy of right and wrong, but the Bible must be our standard of what is right.
In opposition to conformity, we are to be transformed by renewing our minds. When we become Christians, our views and feelings should change. Paul tells us in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” While we still live in the flesh and the old sinful nature dwells within us, we are to seek God and His righteousness. We must study to get to know the one who died for us and the one who gave His Son for us. As we get to know Him, we will want to please Him. Our love will grow, and our desires will change. We will not have outward conformity but an inward desire that affects everything about us. The more we grow, the more the Holy Spirit will guide us and help us to understand how wrong our past actions were. We will desire to live a good and acceptable life, conforming to the will of God for our lives.
Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
I remember when the word “reasonable” resonated in my heart and changed my thinking. I had been a Christian for years, and many things in my life had changed, but each change had seemed like a struggle. It seemed hard to change. It was almost as if it were a burden, but when I read this verse again, it hit me that the changes I had made were for my betterment. They were to draw me closer to God. They were to make me more like Jesus. Nothing I could or can do to please Him should seem hard or difficult when I do it because I love Him. It is all reasonable.
