In Luke 14:28-35, Jesus reminds us that unless we give up and surrender everything we have, we cannot be his true disciples. Many years ago, I heard this revised, sometimes accurate version of the song ‘All to Jesus, I Surrender’. It goes like this,
Some to Jesus, I surrender
Some to Thee I freely give
I will mostly love and trust Him
In His presence, often live
I surrender some
I surrender some
Some to Jesus, I surrender
I surrender some
Some to Jesus I surrender
Proudly at his feet, I stand
Worldly pleasures all held tightly
Take some Jesus but not too much
Don’t you think this song reflects our church today? More importantly, does it reflect you? Let us humble ourselves before God and honestly reflect on this question.
A century ago, a man named Judson Van Deventer wrestled with his life choices. He loved the arts and became an author, composer and artist. Nevertheless, he felt that God was calling him to ministry. He wrestled for some years whether or not to leave his job that he loved so much. One fine day after much prayer and reflection, he said, ‘At last the pivotal hour of my life came and I surrendered all’ and then penned those famous words.
All to Jesus I surrender All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him In His presence daily live.
I surrender all, I surrender all
All to Thee my precious Saviour
I surrender all.
Later, he joined Florida Bible Institute and played a vital role in mentoring one of the greatest evangelists of all time, Rev Billy Graham.
Dear friends, the concept of total surrender to God is probably the most essential factor in our relationship with him. There is a difference between salvation and discipleship. Salvation means coming to the cross and believing in Christ Jesus, but discipleship means carrying our cross and following Christ Jesus. In Luke 14, Jesus taught about the cost of being His disciple. It involves the total surrender of our lives to him. Carrying our cross means death to self, our plans and ambitions, and we place God and his will for us above everything else. God gets upset when we confess his authority over us, but we carry on to live by our plans and ambitions. Apostle Paul noted that he no longer lives, but Christ lives in him (Gal 2:19-20). Christ always did the will of the Father, so if we die to self and let Christ live in us, then we will also be able to do the will of the Father. CH Spurgeon once said, ‘No man has truly given himself to Christ unless he has said, ‘My Lord, I give thee this day my body, my soul, my powers, my talents, my goods, my house, my children, and all that I have. Henceforth, I hold them at thy will, as a steward under thee. Thine they are. As for me, I have nothing. I have surrendered all to thee!’’
Can you say that prayer today? Are you surrendering some, but you would like to surrender all and become a true disciple of Christ? Let us come before our almighty God to repent, surrender all, carry our cross and follow Christ daily.
