What Does It Mean To Surrender To Christ?
I preached Sunday at Grace Community Church on the need to surrender everything to Christ. What a lofty concept. I realize how ambiguous that statement is. I explained more, and you can listen to that message HERE (or watch it HERE), but I received additional questions after the message. Personally, I love when that happens. To me it means people left thinking.
A typical question went something like this:
What exactly does it mean to “surrender”? How do you do that?
In an attempt to help continue this thought process, here is an answer I emailed to one questioner:
Dear _________:
You have asked a difficult question to answer. If you can fully understand surrendering, you can help a whole lot of people…and sell some books. Surrender is almost as mysterious as when Jesus was talking to Nicodemus in John 3 about being “born again”. It’s a concept hard to get our minds to comprehend.
I need to start by saying:
Surrender is less about a formula and more about knowing the person of Christ.
Surrender is less about an action plan and more about devoting one’s self to Jesus.
Surrender is less about finding answers and more about obedience to His plan as He reveals it.
Surrender is less about solving a specific problem and more about creating a lifestyle of following Christ.
With those understandings, let me share that one way to understand the concept of surrender may be to compare it to something you do understand. What does surrender look like in a relationship with Jesus? Put it in terms of a relationship you have now and understand (at least most days).
The day you first met your husband, you may or may not have liked him at first, but almost certainly, if he had asked you that day to move to strange city with him, you may have looked at him as if he was crazy. You may have even slapped his face. As you began to get to know him, you started to trust him increasingly, and at some point, you were more willing to follow him. Obviously, you moved here to be with him.
It is similar with your surrender to Christ. While your husband may never be 100% trustworthy, because he’s human…God is! The more you know Him, the more you will know His voice and the better you will hear His commands…And the more willing you will be to follow Him wherever He leads.
In my understanding, that’s what surrender is all about…
How would you have answered?
For more devotional thoughts, click HERE.
4 responses to "What Does It Mean To Surrender To Christ?"
What a wonderful explanation of Surrender!
I don’t stop by often enough, Ron… but I’m sure glad I did today!
.-= Peter P´s last blog ..Andrew’s Gift – guest post by Brenda (prairielady) Coats =-.
Thanks Peter. Read your comments on Michael Hyatt’s blog. I think you should move this way.
I love this word picture.
.-= Emily´s last blog ..Thanksgiving =-.
Emily, you are a perfect example here. You and Daniel have made some huge faith moves together. Love and miss you both.