I was warped at an early age.
But it was the good kind of warping. My parents made my brother and I memorize scripture as young children. There’s a story that has reached legendary status in the Nunnally family that tells of my then four-year-old older brother being asked what his name was by a stranger at the beach. He replied, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Classic.
One of the verses I memorized as a kid was Romans 12:1. Unfortunately, there weren’t nearly as many Bible translations back then, so the New King James was the most modern version around. It started “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God…” Not exactly kid-friendly vocab, huh? Who the heck says “beseech” anymore?
I was recently reading this verse again and decided to look up all of the different translations for what was originally translated “beseech.” I found that it had been replaced with “urge,” “appeal,” “beg,” and “plead” in most newer versions. The English definition for the Greek is to “summon, admonish” or “exhort.” Its almost like the translators didn’t quite know how to capture the full depth of what the writer, Paul, was trying to get at. I began thinking about this and was reminded of the “dare scale” used by children on playgrounds and adults who never grow up. As a reminder, if one of your friends wants to dare you to do something, they can employ any of the following dare options:
1. The basic dare. Ex: Dude, there’s that girl you like. I dare you to go talk to her. This is used when the dare-ee would probably do the dare without being dared to begin with. The problem with the basic dare is that it can easily be ignored.
2. The double dare. Ex: You don’t wanna talk to her? Come on, I double dare you, bro. Now we’ve taken this thing up a step. You can’t just ignore a double dare. The dare-er has just given the dare-ee something to think about.
3. The double dog dare. Ex: You’re such a chicken. Just do it man. I double dog dare you! Ok, this has all of the sudden gotten serious. Not taking a double dog dare will subject you to ridicule for days, even weeks and is fair game for all future proof of wussiness. Game on, baby. Game on. (Note: some less civilized areas of the country use the “double dirty dog” or “double dirty dead dog” dare, but this is not recommended as I think we can all agree its beneath us.)
4. The triple dog dare. Ex: This is so ridiculous! I can’t believe you! You’re such a pansy! Go talk to her! I triple dog dare you! Ok, now we’ve reached critical mass and the triple dog dare has been used. This is essentially a kill-shot by the dare-er where they are pulling rank and demanding the dare be done. No person in their right mind would ignore a triple dog dare. You just don’t do that. It doesn’t matter how awful the dare is, not performing a triple-dog dare is much worse.
I think the Apostle Paul is handing the Romans a triple dog dare here. He’s essentially saying Look, there’s really no other option here. Quit dragging your feet, just bite the bullet and do it already.
So now that we’ve established the importance of Paul’s triple dog dare, what is he daring us to do? What’s so important that he uses the trump card of all dares?
Let’s look at the rest of the verse. I’m using the Amplified version:
“…and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God…”
Do you keep the mercy of God in view as you move forward? Or do you only use it for your rear view mirror? So many Christians seem to relegate God’s mercy only to their past. Sure, they believe He’s forgiven them for what’s already occurred, but while that’s certainly good, its incomplete. Recognizing mercy for your past brings freedom to your personal history, but without mercy fueling your hope for the future you won’t have the confidence to move forward in Him. His mercy is new every morning – not just for yesterday’s sake but for the sake of today! You don’t have to be afraid of mistakes you’ll make today or tomorrow – keep His mercy in view.
“….make a decisive dedication of your bodies….”
Look, you’re not just going to wake up one morning and magically act like Jesus. While you’re here on earth, you have a flesh and your flesh is never going to want to do what’s right. We say the wrong things, we serve ourselves, we forget our purpose. We Christians have to make the choice everyday – a decisive dedication of our bodies – to walk in the Spirit and not follow the dictates of our flesh. Not saying its easy, but its necessary!
“…a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated)…”
I’ve always heard the word “holy” defined as “set apart.” That’s a good definition. You could also use the phrases “other than” and “something else.” Holy is the word you use to describe something when all analogies fail. It’s untouched by everything you might compare it to. It stands alone. This is why we tell God He’s holy during worship. He is “other than” anything else. He is “something else.” We are called to be “other than” too: separate from the world and given completely to Him. Have you ever seen on-fire Christians loving others unconditionally, full of faith and changing the environment around them for the better? Now that’s something else!
“…well pleasing to God…”
Wanna make God happy? Impress Him by giving Him all of you. Imagine that you finally saved up enough money to order that brand new car you’ve been dreaming of. You visit the dealership, choose all of your options and make the down payment. But weeks later when the car arrives, its missing the steering wheel, the rear bumper and the front right tire. You’d be upset, wouldn’t you! Well, God purchased you with the blood of His Son. Imagine how frustrating it is when you hold parts back from Him. He bought a complete ministry vehicle, but many times we deny Him access to those parts He purchased. God is not impressed with how loud you sing during worship or how many verses are underlined in your Bible. He is impressed when He gets all that He paid for!
“…which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service/worship”
The Greek word translated here as “reasonable, rational, and intelligent” is logikos where we get the English word “logical.” Not allowing the Amazingly All-Powerful, Incredibly Intelligent King of the Universe full access to your life is just plain illogical. Really, it just makes no sense. What are you afraid of? Be smart – go ahead and go all in!
I encourage you to be 100% totally sold out to Him. Go ahead, try it. What are you waiting for? You’re not gonna get a better deal! He loves you. He wants you. He’s calling you. Answer Him.
I triple dog dare you!
