by Pastor Rich Carlson

Are you as interested in knowing God’s will as I am? Romans 12:1-3 spells out five prerequisites for knowing His will:

"In view of God’s mercy" (12:1):

• Offer your bodies as living sacrifices to God (2:1)
• Do not conform to the pattern of this world (12:2)
• Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (12:2)

If you do these things, then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is (12:2). Kind of as an afterthought, Paul adds in verse 3:

• Do not think of yourself more highly than you should.
• In accordance with the measure of faith God has given you, think of yourself with sober judgment.

And that contrasting illustration helps me see that God values all the parts of His "body." Each person has a gift from God like the "measure of faith" mentioned above. I can’t be everything to all people. That would make me think too highly of myself (or depress me when I fail). I need to value and trust each part of God’s body and trust that God knows what He is doing and will develop those gifts in each of us as He sees fit.

"In view of God’s mercy," I want to:

• place myself on God’s altar to let Him know I am completely His
• make conscious choices against anything in this world that distracts me from completely giving my life to Him
• accomplish this by fixing my mind on anything that God offers to me that is good
• remember where anything good in me comes from and be sure and give Him the credit
• learn the lessons of complete trust in a God that has given me everything I need
• value the unique gifts of each part of God’s body and work toward an efficiently functioning "body of Christ."

In view of God’s mercy, how could I do any less? And the promise is that I will then know the will of God.

Rich Carlson is campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. “God Is Faithful” is adapted from the email devotionals he writes regularly for the Union College family. Rich enjoys filling his life with God, his family, and especially his five grandchildren.