Sunday, July 5, 2009

I Surrender All by Serena Haneline


The singles ministry I’m a part of likes to use the NOOMA videos — a collection of incisive and thought-provoking videos by Rob Bell, author, speaker, and lead pastor of a church in Grandville, MI. He simplifies God’s truths and uses video to illustrate his points. The other night we were watching one such video called “Tomato” about how we believe our success, intelligence, talents, etc. show how “good” we are. Jesus, however, told us to die to these things — things that make up our false self — so that we can truly live.

Based on the scripture of Matthew 10:39: “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it,” Rob tells us that in order to find our true identity in Christ, we have to surrender and die to the “ideals of an image-conscious culture.”

After the video ended, we discussed the topic of surrender from our own experiences. At one point during the discussion, two women in my group commented that they are “surrendered” to Christ. I then began to wonder how many of us really grasp what it truly means to surrender to Christ.

The definition of the word “surrender” is to yield (something) to the possession or power of another. How often do we do this — especially in America? I’m currently reading a novel about persecuted Christians in China and how they are jailed, tortured and/or killed for their faith. The sad thing is that although the story itself is fiction, the reality of persecution in China and throughout the world is very real.

Millions of Christians die as martyrs every year. And even though we may not have reached a state of martyrdom yet in this country, I believe our time is quickly approaching. All over the United States, there are more and more cases of Christians being targeted for their faith. The spiritual face of our country is changing drastically in these last days, and I can’t help wondering: Who are we surrendering to?

Christians as a whole have sadly conformed to the world instead of surrendering to God and dying to the self and all its desires. Perhaps this is why so many unbelieving Americans are turned off by the Church — because they see no difference between it and the world in which they live.

So what does it mean then to surrender, to yield and give up everything to the power of our Lord? Do we really understand the cost of being a follower of Jesus in today’s volatile world? Do we know what it truly means to die to self so that we can live abundantly the life Jesus promised us?

I think there are very, very few believers in America who have truly surrendered. Those who are surrendered would be characterized by such authentic humility that they would never boast or draw attention to their condition—for they have willingly sacrificed “self” for one far greater.

They are the ones who do as John says in his gospel, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (3:30). They are so focused on God that they hear His voice readily and obey it, regardless of what their flesh is crying for.

They are the ones who are persecuted and die daily for their faith. When persecution comes to our country, will we be so surrendered that we can be counted as one of the millions who lay down their lives, yielding completely to the will of their Heavenly Father? Will we be among those who have died to self and the world so that we can truly live, even if faced with physical death?

I’m afraid it will take persecution for many of us to even begin to grasp what true surrender really involves. But history has shown that the more the Church is persecuted, the more she grows and strengthens. May God give us strength to surrender, as followers of Christ, and to stand in the face of growing persecution in America.

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