Surrender

Surrender is an important concept of faith that many Christians overlook. We love the word obedience, but when it comes to surrender, we only give lip service. Let’s start with reflecting on one of the great hymns of the faith. My good friend, Perry, would sing this song almost every time he was asked to sing a solo. It brought people to tears, because it flowed from his heart.

All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give,

I will ever love and trust him, in his presence daily live.

If faith is a trust relationship with God then we must ask ourselves, what is the measure of faith?  What is the hallmark of a trust relationship? Is it belief?  Is it obedience? Or is it surrender?

You may think I am quibbling over words. But it is much more important. You see, many Christians live with a false sense of the fullness of a trust relationship with God based on obedience, rather than based on surrender. When we hear sermons on obedience, we sit up tall in the pew, look about at the others in the room, and pat ourselves on the back. (Or we sit there wallowing in our unceasing failure.) The “obedient” respond like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable in Luke 18. He puffed up his chest as he dropped his obedient tithe in the temple treasury while, at the same time, scorning the tax collector next to him, a man who was beating his chest and crying out for mercy.

Do you remember the little Sicilian man in the movie, “Princess Bride”?  He would often say, “Inconceivable”. Finally, Inigo Montoya said to him, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” May I suggest that we do the same with the word “obedience”. We keep using the word, but it does not mean what we think it means. We think that we are full of faith when we obey every rule and command we find in Scripture. We believe we are righteous because we are obedient. We think that if we are totally compliant that we are surrendered. But that is not the case. The opposite is what is true. If we are fully surrendered then obedience will follow. That is what Jesus meant when he said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Jesus was not uttering a threat to his disciples, rather he was saying that obedience flows out of love and surrender.

The proud Pharisee in Jesus’ parable (Luke 18) was obedient, but he was not surrendered. The rich young ruler in Luke 18 was obedient, from his youth, but he was not surrendered. His riches were more important than surrender, and obedience assuaged his heart. Obedience for him was an impediment. The blind man that clamored for Jesus to heal him was full of faith (also in Lk 18). And you cannot measure that faith by obedience. Rather, his impetuous, noisy and persistent demands demonstrated a heart that was surrendered to the love and power of Jesus. Then in Luke 19 we have the story of Zacchaeus. He probably had heard the parables and seen the miracles of Jesus (Lk 18) as Jesus approached Jericho and his heart was captivated. Jesus went to his home for lunch. After Zacchaeus repented and offered extravagant demonstrations of his surrender, Jesus said, “Today, righteousness and salvation has come to this home.”  Like Abraham, righteousness based on love, trust, and surrender. But for both Abraham and Zacchaeus it was surrender that led them to obey, even beyond reason.

I don’t have a dislike or disrespect for obedience. It is the ultimate response of love and trust for God. But it is not the primary response to God. The summary truth of Scripture is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and actions. That is surrender. God said to a small group of men some years ago, “I want you to seek my face, not my will.” If you were to stand in the presence of Jesus, face to face, could you freely express your love for him, or would you expect him to be pleased and impressed by all your deeds and obedience?

I have a problem when Christians place obedience above knowing and loving God. Hence, the concept of surrender, for me, paves the way to proper obedience. You see, obedience often stays within defined parameters, whereas surrender is not even guided by such rules and expectations. Obedience often stems from fear of God, rather than love for God. Obedience can even lead to serving God and worshipping God, absent of love for God. Always talking of obedience to your children may in fact turn them away from faith, whereas talking to them of a relationship of love and trust, using language of the heart, may inspire their faith.

Now for a personal illustration. But let me set the stage with this cute little story.  A poor farmer was approached by a priest and asked, “If you had a horse would you give it to the Lord?” The farmer answered, “Yes.” “And if you had a cow?” “Absolutely!” “And a goat?” “Sure!” “A pig?” “That’s not fair”, protested the farmer, “You know I have a pig!”

When we retired Carol and I had plans of building a nice comfortable apartment. But as the time approached, we decided that the cost of $100,000 would use up much of our retirement funds and also make us far too comfortable to hear God’s voice beckon us to serve Him in new and challenging ways, even in the sunset of our lives. So, we chose to purchase a 400 square foot park model trailer to live in, costing only $15,000. No, I am not bragging, nor suggesting everyone should do the same. But my kids need to know, someday, why Mom and Dad did what they did. We were not necessarily being obedient, but we were choosing to be surrendered. We anxiously await each and every call of the Master to step out and serve.

Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord, to thee.

Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love.

Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold.

Take my heart, it is thine own, it shall be thy royal throne.

(Some of my favorite lines from the great Frances Havergal hymn, “Take my Life and Let It Be”)