“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1,2)
The Lord Jesus has bought us at the cost of His own life; but that doesn’t mean He now does with us as He wills with complete disregard to our will. We are to recognize that we are “not our own,” and continually give God what belongs to Him. Redemption has not set us free from sin so we can be at liberty to “do our own thing.” “By the mercies of God,” we are extricated from the grip of sin and Satan in order to live in the hand of God. We are now free to worship God in the voluntary presenting of ourselves to Him.
The blood bought saint of God is not called to surrender daily to God. Surrender is what someone does when they have been fighting another. To be saved is to be reconciled to God. Our status changes from enemy to friend, child of Satan to child of God, servant of sin to servant of the Most High. To present our bodies to Him daily as a living sacrifice is our “reasonable service.” This is not something God will make any of us do. He wants us to be willing, even delighted, to give ourselves to Him. This and this alone is a “sweet-smelling sacrifice” which is “well-pleasing” unto God. It is not surrender, it is submission. And a delighted God will surely lead in a perfect path all who are so given over to Him.