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As a kid, I learned to take care of my belongings, whether that be my car, my clothes, or anything else I owned. However, I learned to take even better care of things that were not mine. My dad always told me, "you should always leave something better than you found it!"
This was great advice, considering that over the course of time, I handled plenty of things that I did not own. The first Airbnb I stayed at in Miami, Florida, was a beautiful condo. I resided there for 3 months while training for football in the area. I remembered to clean the house, empty the trash, and keep the house clean daily because the condo didn’t belong to me. Every single day was dedicated to making sure the place was well taken care of. In the back of my head I knew I couldn’t afford to pay for any damaged items, so there was a constant fear of upsetting the landlord. Not a day went by without that lingering sense of fear.
This is what it feels like to be living in a house that’s not your own. You’re constantly thinking about making a mistake or damaging someone else’s property. So what if I told you that the body you have isn’t your own? What if I told you that you were bought with a price?
"You were God’s expensive purchase, paid for with tears of blood, so by all means, then, use your body to bring glory to God!" - 1 Corinthians 6:20 TPT
Most people accept Jesus Christ with their mouths but not with their heart (Matthew 15:8), so nothing in their life really changes. They still do whatever they want, whenever they feel like it. However, if Jesus Christ is truly your LORD and savior, then He owns every part of your life. Every day, every moment, must be dedicated to pleasing Him because you know that you can’t afford to pay the price of living life without God.
"Do you not know that when you continually offer yourselves to someone to do his will, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing with God)?" - Romans 6:16 AMP
Jesus is a perfect example of living life knowing that it doesn't belong to you. He knew that He did not come down to the earth to do His own will; He only came to do the will of His Father.
“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." - John 5:19 KJV
Jesus constantly said that He could only do what God told Him to do. And, as His Father instructed, through a miserable, horrible, torturous death, He purchased your life with literal blood, sweat and tears! This is what you have to bear in mind when you say that Jesus Christ is your Lord.
Making Him your Lord means giving your body and life to Him as a reasonable sacrifice, the same we that He gave His life for you- and before you get too caught up on the term "reasonable", stop and ask yourself, honestly, how has life panned out without God anyway?
"I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship." - Romans 12:1 AMPC
If you have been bought with a price, and presenting yourself as a living sacrifice is considered reasonable by the One who purchased you, how has the way you've lived your life reflect God's standard for you? If you were to give yourself a performance evaluation based on His criteria, how would you do?
I guess the real question is: Would Jesus look at your life and want a refund on the price He paid for you?