Worshipping God With Our Bodies

Photo Credit: Maria Kuznecova

(By Heather Marshall)

Have you ever wondered what it means to give your body to God as a living and holy sacrifice? 

We read in Romans 12:1, “And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.” (NLT).

I most often associate worship with spiritual activities like praying, singing, reading Scripture, and meditating. Can how I use my body actually be an act of worship?

The Message paraphrase of this verse in Romans puts it this way, “take your everyday ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life — and place it before God as an offering.” 

Mary the mother of Jesus is a wonderful example of taking her everyday, ordinary life and offering it to God as a sacrifice, an act of true worship. When the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her that she was going to become the mother of the promised Messiah, her response was, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true” (Luke 1:38 NLT). 

She completely surrendered her life and her body to God, according to His will. Her body would be the vessel that would bring the Savior into the world!

It would affect her everyday, ordinary life in so many tangible ways. Her body would grow and change with the precious baby growing inside of her. And as that baby grew, her feet would swell and her back would ache. She would feel fatigue and all the discomfort that comes with pregnancy. 

She would seek to eat right and get enough sleep so her baby would grow healthy and strong. Everything she did with her body now was not about herself but about the Son of God who was in her womb!

She surrendered it all to Him. She even had to give up her reputation, and it nearly cost her relationship with her fiance. We don’t read about it directly in the Bible, but she likely lost friendships and was shunned by society because she was an unwed, pregnant woman. 

Mary gave everything of herself to God, — all her sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life. But her heart rejoiced in it all. We read her wonderful song of worship in Luke 1, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47 NLT). 

Mary’s complete surrender led her to worship God in her spirit. Laying her body down for God’s use was a true act of worshiping Him. 

What about us? Can we give our bodies as offerings in worship like Mary did? 

We don’t have baby Jesus growing inside our bodies as Mary did, but we do have the presence of the Holy Spirit in our bodies. “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT). 

We belong to Christ and have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, so our bodies are now not about ourselves but about Him and glorifying Him through all we do with our bodies. 

As we approach this Christmas season, may Mary’s example of the surrender of her body as an act of worship inspire each of us to consider how we might give our bodies as an offering of worship at Christmas time and all through the year.

Here are some examples to get us started: 

- Rest quietly in His presence with your Bible and a hot beverage; let Him fill you up with His beauty. 

- Cook and share a nutritious meal with loved ones. 

- Take a walk and enjoy the beautiful Christmas lights and remember that He is the light of the world.

- Work at your job with renewed passion (even if you have to work on Christmas Day), because your work is an act of service to Him. 

- Sing the old familiar Christmas carols again and allow the truth of their words to wash over your soul and speak afresh to you about His glorious person. 

- Serve your church or community through getting involved in giving, whether through offering meals, carol singing, or giving to families in need. 

- Enjoy celebrations with family and friends, giving thanks to Him for all His blessings. 

Friends, may God bless each of you as you seek to glorify Him in your bodies, your true act of worship.