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.
Romans 12:1
America’s most recent Medal of Honor winner, Sergeant Dakota Meyer, was responsible for rescuing nearly three dozen comrades during a 2009 battle in Afghanistan. Over a six-hour period, he made five different trips into harm’s way to rescue wounded and fallen fellow soldiers. After the conflict, reflecting on what he had done, then-Corporal Meyer stated, “I didn’t think I was going to die. I knew I was.”
That attitude–setting out expecting to die–is a heroic one when it comes to military conflict. But it has a parallel in the spiritual realm that is expected of every Christian: death to self when we choose to follow Christ as His disciple. Paul expresses the idea best in Romans 12:1 when he talks about presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. We live, yet we live as those who have died to self, sin, and the system of this world.
The very first act of stewardship we must carry out is dedicating all we have and all we are to God for His glory. It’s what good stewards do–giving up everything to live for the Master.(Turning Point)
Consecration is resolution that is not afraid of sacrifice.
Anonymous
