Living the Surrendered Life: Making It Practical

The following is thanks to Nancy Leigh DeMoss, from her book, Surrender: The Heart God Controls. Chapter Six,

"Full consecration" may be in one sense

the act of a moment,

and in another the work of a lifetime.

It must be complete to be real,

and yet, if real, it is always incomplete;

a point of rest, and yet a

perpetual progression.

--Frances R. Havergal

One of the clearest statements of the practical terms of surrender for every follower of Christ is found in Luke, chapter 14. In verse 25, we find Jesus surrounded by a large crowd. Unlike what we might be tempted to do, Jesus never played to the audience. He wasn't concerned about His ratings; He wasn't running for office or trying to attract the biggest crowd in town. He knew full well that when some heard His message, they would lose interest in His movement. But that didn't keep Him from being straightforward.

Jesus looked at the crowd of would-be disciples and said, in effect, "If you want to follow Me, you need to understand what's involved":

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters"-and here's the heart of the matter-"yes, even his own life-he cannot be My disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple" (vv. 26-27).

There could be no mistaking Jesus' point. He was not offering His listeners some sort of weekend Christian experience, an escape from their problems, an anesthetic for their pain, or fire insurance from hell. Everyone listening to Jesus knew that a cross meant only one thing-death. He was calling them to come and die to everything that competed with His reign and rule in their lives.

In verse 33, He reiterated His call to total surrender: "Any of you who does not give up everything that he has cannot be My disciple."

Jesus' words in Luke 14 are penetrating because they are so intensely personal and practical. He did not speak in sweeping generalities; rather, He identified specific issues that must be surrendered by those who call themselves His followers-things like our relationships, our affections, our physical bodies, our rights, and our possessions.

It's one thing to have an emotional experience at a Christian gathering where you are inspired and challenged to surrender control of everything to God. It's another matter to live out that surrender once the emotion of the moment has passed - when the bus gets home from the conference... when you lose your job and the bills keep coming...when you find out you're expecting your fifth child in seven years...when your mate is diagnosed with a terminal illness.