March 12
Total Surrender
Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."
(Mark 10:28)
Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is "for My
sake and the gospel's" (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples
themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits
that may result. For example, "I'm going to give myself to God because I want to be
delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy." Being delivered from sin and
being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this
kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for
surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that
we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying,
"No, Lord, I don't want You; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me
with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, 'This is
what God has done for me.' " Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made
useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender.
Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.
Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships?
Most of us will desert Him with this excuse -- "Yes, Lord, I heard You call me, but
my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can't go any further" (see
Luke 9:57-62). "Then," Jesus says, "you 'cannot be My disciple' " (see
Luke 14:26-33).
True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will
surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were
created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God.
Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced
it.