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Ok, admit it - when you first saw the title of this blog post, you immediately thought about putting money into the collection plate at a church service. That’s the first thing we tend to think of when we hear the term offering, right? I grew up in the church so that’s definitely what I think of.

But what is an offering really? The Greek verb for “to offer” is paristemi, which has many meanings. Some of them are: to have in readiness, provide, to place at the disposal of, to present to God, dedicate, consecrate, or devote. Keeping that in mind, look at the following passage from 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.

Did you see the word “offer” in that passage? What is this verse commanding you to offer to God? We must offer our bodies as a “living sacrifice,” which means that our whole lives must be dedicated to God (see the post on obedience from a few weeks ago for a little more on this).

The importance here is that we need to make that offering to God. Yes, putting money in the collection plate at church is important, but what’s even more important is offering your life to God for His use. Place your life at His disposal; dedicate it to Him; present it to God.

How do we do this? Well, that’s where the second verse of that passage comes in. Verse 2 says that we should not conform to the pattern of this world, and that we should be transformed by renewing our minds. If we do these things, we will be giving a pleasing offering to God. He desires that we be transformed to His will, rather than conforming to the ways of this world. Think about that next time you see an offering plate at a church!