Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:29-30)

Can I Surrender?

The idea of surrender is not very palatable to the human spirit. There is an innate part of the will of man that resists having to yield to another or allow something to control one’s life. The call of freedom has instilled the need to be free to choose and to live as one pleases, to seek life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While that may be the “American way,” it is not found in the relationship with the Divine. God has never been a democracy. Jesus is a King who demands complete obedience. If the will of man is not totally given to serving the Son of God, there can be no discipleship. The autocratic rule of Christ comes from the same authority as God the Father.

Adam and Eve did not obey the command of God and lost their place in the garden. The world in the days of Noah rebelled against the word of the Lord, and the Creator destroyed every human being on the face of the earth save eight souls in the ark. God demanded complete loyalty in the Law of Moses, but Israel sought after other gods and was destroyed. The message of Jesus was not a new theology. Obedience to the Father requires loving Him with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength. Anything less is unacceptable.

Jesus shows the reason His Father demands complete devotion. The Lord God is one. There are no other gods that man can worship in truth. God cannot be divided. He is a jealous God, and His name is Jealous! His righteousness demands complete devotion because of sin. There is nothing man could do to redeem himself back to God, and it took the blood of God’s Son to take away the wrath of God. The price paid for sin demands the price paid for complete surrender. It can never be a partial submission or half-hearted devotion. Loving God demands all the heart, soul, mind, and strength of a person to surrender completely everything in life to the will of God.

As King of kings, Jesus Christ is a monarch with absolute power. His word is law. As citizens of the kingdom of Christ, there is no appeal court to change the laws. Jesus rules according to the authority given to Him by God. When a person obeys the gospel of Christ, he must confess the Lord Jesus and believe that God raised Him from the dead. The resurrection is what proclaimed Jesus to be Lord and Christ. Confession is surrender. Not partial. It requires everything about a man to serve the Lord. The heart must be completely given over to the word of God. Every soul must choose whom they will serve. The mind is governed and directed by the will of the Father. Every part of the strength of the child of God is devoted to the relationship of man and God. There can be nothing less than complete devotion.

The great challenge in the Lord’s church is the lack of devoted hearts of disciples. Too many hearts serve the Lord in a lackadaisical and casual manner. Showing up for worship services when convenient becomes the norm. There is no desire to grow in Christ or fellowship with the saints. Church is a bore, prayer life is “Now I lay me down to sleep,” and having a deep personal relationship with Jesus is foreign. Only when the Christian realizes the beauty and joy of surrendering everything to God is the gospel fully realized. God demands complete surrender, and what a beautiful surrender that becomes. Jesus died to show what full surrender means, and through His example, grace is learned by those who come to know Him. Through the Holy Spirit, the heart learns to let go of the world and embrace the love of God. Surrender. Give your heart, soul, mind, and body to God. You will not believe what wonderful blessings await you.