Offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. Romans 6:13 (NIV)
Notice what the apostle Paul says immediately before this verse: “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as instruments of wickedness…” (6:13). Paul is talking here about the possibility of offering yourself to sin—your capacities, what you can do with the skill of your hands, the creativity of your mind, and so on.
This is the negative dimension of repentance, and Paul is now going to state the positive. You would expect him to say: “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness. But rather offer the parts of your body to God as instruments of righteousness.” But that is not what he says.
There is something else that you have to do first: “Offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of your body to him [God] as instruments of righteousness.” Because before you can offer your gifts, you have to offer yourself.
Offering yourself to God means putting yourself at his disposal and leaving him to assign the task. The use he makes of your gifts is up to him. There is a wonderful freedom that comes from saying, “I offer myself to you. How you use me, I leave in your hands.” That’s freedom.
What do you know of this kind of freedom?
