Esther as a Living Sacrifice
Today is Purim. Our family continues to read through the Daily Torah Portions. We read the New Testament reading today from Romans. The verse tied in with Purim and the story of Esther.
Romans 12:1-2
I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you. In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the ‘olam hazeh. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed. (CJB)
First I should probably define “olam hazeh.” The basic translation means, “earth this” so turning it into proper English the sentence would say, “do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of this world.”
How do these two verses tie into Purim? Esther was a living sacrifice. She was willing to give her life for her God and people. She understood what it meant to possibly die for a cause. She chose to live different than others in the kingdom. She chose to keep her mind focused on God no matter what was happening around her.
As we read these verses we can see that in order to “please Him” we must set ourselves apart. We must not let ourselves be conformed to the patterns in this world. We are definitely called to be different. Esther clearly stood for these principles.
Paul wrote this to the Romans as sacrifices to other gods were happening around those who were trying to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His clear instructions to this group of people is that they MUST set themselves apart and use their bodies as the “living temples” to worship God.
When we renew our minds and let ourselves be transformed by HIS Words, this is what HE wants and what is GOOD, SATISFYING and helps us SUCCEED.
Take time today to be like Esther. Think about how YOU can be a LIVING SACRIFICE. Think about what it means for YOU to RENEW your mind. These are the things that bring success.
Love and blessings,
Rose
All donations are tax deductible through TBG. Click the picture below to take you to the TBG homepage and from there you can "Give Online."
