08/11/2025
By Pastor Vinnie Cappetta
"All In: A Life Offered Back to God – When Grace Finds You, What Will You Give in Return?"
My wife got paid to eat at restaurants. I like to call her a spy, but technically she’s was mystery shopper. One night she got an assignment at a high-end place in Boston—way up in the Prudential building. We sat down to a $150 meal we didn’t pay for. It was generous. It was good. But it wasn’t just for our enjoyment. She was there to observe. To notice. And to respond with something intentional.
That night reminded me how often we receive from God without thinking much about what comes next. We’re quick to enjoy the grace, slow to respond to it.
Paul spends eleven chapters in Romans laying out the overwhelming mercy of God—His patience, His pursuit, His saving power. And then he ends chapter 11 in awe:
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
(Romans 11:33)
And the very next thing he says?
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—
this is your true and proper worship.”
(Romans 12:1)
We don’t offer ourselves to get something from God. We offer ourselves because we already have.
I remember one year when money was tight and I gave my dad a book I liked. Problem was, he didn’t like the author. He gently handed it back—not because he didn’t appreciate the gesture, but because it wasn’t really for him.
Sometimes we do that with God. We give Him what’s convenient. What we like. But the gift that pleases Him isn’t about polish or preference. He’s looking for the whole person. You.
Reflection Questions:
- Where in your life are you offering God what’s comfortable instead of what’s costly?
- Have you mistaken activity for offering?
- What does it mean for you—this week—to offer your life as worship?
Dwelling Point: Romans 12:1–2
Don’t just admire grace. Respond to it with your whole life.
