Lately I’ve been thinking more about what it means to offer yourself as a “living sacrifice” from Romans 12 in the context of blessing people. What does it mean to give of yourself to God and to other people–not in terms of acts of service, but in terms of your very self? I’m talking, of course, about sharing vulnerably, of knowing yourself so well that you have an authentic self to give to other people.
How do you give yourself to others? What does it mean to share your life, your heart, and your thoughts with others? I think of the blessing of meeting new friends that begin to offer themselves freely; they don’t hide or pretend to be someone else. They don’t try to please, manipulate, or flatter. They just stand there and offer who they are to you. They live in humility and honesty. They know who they are, and they give themselves freely.