I Quit - Pt 1

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:23-27 ESV). How do you react when you hear the word surrender? Most of our feelings are negative, aren’t they? We picture white flags being run up and armies yielding to their enemies. Surrender suggests weakness, giving up, and a defeated attitude. Surrender is for losers, exactly the opposite of what our society strives for. The world today tells us that we have to make our own way, to do whatever it takes to win. Then we can enjoy the dream life: to be prosperous, independent, and free. In our self-centered culture we are not encouraged to think about submitting to the power of another. We won’t abandon our own motives to give ourselves up to something or someone else. And yet that is exactly what the Bible calls us to do. When Jesus talks about the cost of being his disciple, he says that we are to “deny ourselves.” This doesn’t mean that we merely deny certain things. It’s not like passing on dessert. Rather, being a disciple means a complete denial of control over our life. In other words, Jesus wants us to surrender all to him. Over the coming days we will look at the topic of surrender and think about what it means for followers of Jesus Christ. First, we need to understand why surrender is a necessary part of faith. We think of surrendering all to Christ as a bit extreme. Isn’t it possible to fulfill our Christian duty without becoming a radical? In our reading Jesus spells out the non-negotiable conditions of discipleship: we must love Jesus more than anything, even our families; take up and carry crosses, as well as then relinquish everything to him. That’s quite a demand. But it is clearly essential in order to be a true disciple of Christ. Author Nancy Leigh DeMoss points out that “to call him Lord means to say yes: to his will, his word, and his ways. We cannot call him Lord and then proceed to run our own lives.” It is impossible for us to fully obey him while trying to hold things back from him and attempting to remain in control of our own lives. Surrendering everything to him is absolutely necessary. It is also entirely reasonable. When we think of Christ, who he is and what he did for us, total surrender is the only logical response to his love and mercy. Isaac Watts expressed this well in his hymn When I Survey the Wondrous Cross: Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.