Life's Inanities and Ironies

  "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice… that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." — Romans 12:1–2 We end where a guided life actually happens: on the altar of ordinary days. Most of the will of God is not found at a crossroads with thunder over it. It is found in a body presented, a mind renewed, and a Tuesday afternoon offered up as reasonable service. Romans 12 does not begin with techniques for hearing voices. It begins with mercies — the gospel mercies of the eleven chapters before it. Because you have been justified, because there is no condemnation, because nothing shall separate you from the love of God in Christ — therefore present your bodies. Guidance is for living sacrifices, not for consumers shopping for a destiny. A man who will not yield his body will not be able to discern a path. How do you prove that good and acceptable and perfect will? By refusing con...

  "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." — James 1:5 Prayer is not a technique for getting God to approve our plans. It is the child coming to the Father, confessing need, and placing the outcome in His hands. The man who will not pray is not bold. He is self-sufficient, and self-sufficiency is a poor compass. James does not tell the believer to invent wisdom. He tells him to ask. God gives liberally. He does not scold the honest seeker. But the asking must be in faith, nothing wavering. We cannot ask God to show us His way while reserving the right to refuse it if the answer costs us. That is not prayer. That is negotiation. Before choosing the twelve, the Lord continued all night in prayer (Luke 6:12–13). Before the cross He prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). Direction and surrender travel together....