I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galations 2:20

 

In pondering the subject of surrender the words of an old chorus immediately swirl through my mind: “I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee my precious Savior, I surrender all.” Oh, so easily said or sung, but so hard to accomplish in real life!

 

When I teach I often use the phrase, “In order to truly understand something, you need to be able to describe its opposite.” If we apply this idea to our topic here, the opposite of ‘surrender’ might be ‘control.’ Control is not something most of us want to give up, but when we’re talking about our spiritual lives this is a fundamental principle of growth in Christ. As our key verse in Galatians says, it is not I who live (and control) but Christ lives (and exercises His control) in me.

 

We live in a society that is obsessed with ‘rights.’ This is one way we try to exert control in our lives. I have a right to speak my mind even if it hurts others and doesn’t accomplish anything positive. I have a right to do with my body whatever I please even if it goes against the reality of my existence as God’s creation. I have a right to purchase something on credit even though I have little chance of paying when the bill comes due. We can see that attitudes such as these have no place in the life of a Jesus follower. While there certainly are legal issues where rights are indeed important, we’re speaking here of a mindset that puts one’s self first and does not consider the bigger picture that God is the Author and Giver of life and it is to Him we look for our understanding of life and choices.

 

Philippians 2 contains some very important theology regarding Jesus’ incarnation, and it also addresses how this impacts our identity as believers. The passage from verses 5-11 describes what is called Jesus’ kenosis. This is a fancy word for the self-emptying that our Savior willing submitted to, humbling Himself—giving up His divine rights— in order to accomplish the act of redemption. His sacrifice atoned for the sins of the human race. When we grasp the gift of salvation, our surrender to Jesus leads us to model His humility. In fact, verses 3 and 4 tell us how we should do this:

 

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

 

This careful attitude reflects that of Jesus. Rather than considering surrender as something that implies loss, in reality it brings great gain. That is how we can best align ourselves with God’s larger purposes, something we have trouble seeing if we are focused on controlling things according to our notion of what is best. Since God is not limited in time or space He always has the grand, overarching vision. Surrendering my puny ideas in exchange for God’s counsel is something I want to sign up for!

 

The Quakers have a practice that I think can be helpful in putting ourselves in a mindset of surrender. As we sit quietly before the Lord in prayer we place our open hands with palms facing downward and by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we surrender to God something that we’ve been holding onto: “Lord I surrender                                  (envy, gossip, bitterness…). Then with palms facing upward, as if to receive something, we pray “Lord, I receive Your                      (grace, mercy, love…). This can be a slow and quiet process but an immensely valuable one.

 

I recall a time when I was having difficulty with someone in my life and was not looking forward to an upcoming gathering because of her presence there. In talking with my spiritual director she gave me some simple words that required my surrender of the situation. Those words were: ‘Just love.’ Through that counsel God was telling me to give up (surrender) my notions of how this relationship should look and just love this person, plain and simple. The result was breath-taking. Not only did I not have to experience the pins-and-needles feelings of stress but this person and I had a meaningful conversation that opened both of us to some helpful truths.

 

I can’t say that I love this process of surrender nor that it comes easily to me. I like control as much as the next person. In fact, I have a magnet on my fridge that says “Let go or be dragged!”  I don’t want to be dragged. I do want to follow God faithfully. And honestly, God has proven Himself in working through these experiences when I do let go, so how can I not trust Him to continue?

 

Blessings for this day,