Showing posts with label Independence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Independence. Show all posts

Thursday, July 4, 2019

I Surrender


In her book Brokenness, Surrender, Holiness (a compilation of three books), Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes,
Our will was opposed to [God’s] will. We were intent on going our own independent way, and as a result, were estranged from the God of the universe. Even when the Spirit opened our eyes to recognize our rebellious condition, we may have sought a way to bring about peace apart from surrender. We did not want to continue suffering the unpleasant consequences of our resistance, but neither did we want to lay down our arms. Then the message was sent to our hearts: There can be no peace until you are willing to accept My terms—unconditional surrender.
And yet even when we have made a decision to surrender to Christ’s lordship, we often try to take it back later. We still desire to have control over our own lives. “I’ll surrender the parts I don’t like, but this part is still mine to do with as I please!” DeMoss shared what Josef Tson identified as a “shift from the call to full surrender, to the call to commitment.
Christian surrender means that a person lifts his or her hands and says to God, ‘Here I am; I surrender; You take over; I belong to You; You dispose of me!’ But this is America, the country of the independent people! This is the place of ‘Nobody should command me! … I belong only to myself! A call to surrender, and even more, to full surrender, simply doesn’t go well with such people. Therefore, the preachers… hit on the word ‘commitment.’ You see, commitment means ‘I engage myself to do something for you.’ or, even lighter, ‘I promise to do something for you,’ but I remain myself and I may keep my promises or not...
[Bible translators] did not like the term ‘bondslave’ to be applied to people. Who wants to be somebody else’s slave? Therefore, they replaced it with ‘servant.’ Again, a reflection and demand of the independent spirit! In the Greek, ‘slave’ is doulos; ‘servant’ is diakonos. In the Greek Bible one never, never diakoneo to God—one never serves God; one only douleo to God—that is, one slaves to God.”
Many people have made some commitment to God, but their absence of any meaningful participation in the Body of Christ is one indication that they never surrendered to Him. And all of us need to surrender again and again as God reveals areas in our lives that we’re still holding on to. Just today I was reminded that if I want to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), I must surrender my all rights over my life and my choices. I am no longer my own, for I was bought with the blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Therefore anything that stands in opposition to His lordship must be given over to His control. “Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and… put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24 ESV).
Tson is correct that we in America don’t want to surrender to anyone. July 4th is known as Independence Day, but no one who belongs to Christ is truly independent. Actually, every living being is dependent on God, but Christians are the only ones who acknowledge our dependence on Him and willingly surrender to His control. Will we do so again today and tomorrow and every day to come?
Father, I abandon myself into Your hands; do with me what You will. Whatever You may do, I thank You: I am ready for all, I accept all. Only let Your will be done in me, and in all Your creatures—I wish no more than this, O Lord” (Charles de Foucauld).
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
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© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.