Surrender

Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1.

God asks us to give our whole being to Him. Furthermore, He desires a holy being; one not defiled by sin. Of course, as people born into transgression we have no hope of accomplishing this on our own. God gave us Christ to be our example and the Holy Spirit to be our guide. Complete surrender, though, is required; surrender of body, mind, and soul.

Surrender is defined as yielding to the possession or power of another, or to give oneself to an influence, course, or emotion. It is curious that the term surrender does not simply apply to the physical but also to the intellectual and emotional. So God does not want only our bodies, but our minds and souls. It may seem that He is asking a lot of us, but His is a very simple request from One who gave His life for every sinful soul, including those individuals who despised Him. We are giving ourselves to a loving Christ, One whom we can trust implicitly.

We are God’s creation and, by right of ownership, He could induce surrender; however, “It is not part of Christ’s mission to compel man to receive Him… Christ is ever showing mercy, ever seeking to win by the revealing of His love. He can admit no rival in the soul, nor accept of partial service; but He desires only voluntary service, the willing surrender of the heart under the constraint of love.” The Acts of the Apostles, 541.

What, though, does God call us to surrender? Anything that comes between us and Him. It is the infinite love of our Heavenly Father which prompts Him to ask for the removal of any barrier between Himself and His beloved creation. If we love God whole-heartedly this would not be a question or challenge in our minds. Far too often, though, we choose to love and serve something else above God. If God cannot participate in every thought, action, and emotion we are in defiance of His request, and we are asked to surrender it to Him in order that He might replace these things in our hearts. Ellen White provides a beautiful illustration of this.

“About this time Ellen passed by a tent on the campground and saw a little girl who seemed much distressed about something. She held in her arms a little parasol. Her face was pale as she tightly clung to her treasure. Several times she started to lay it down and then she held it closer to her again. After a few minutes the child cried, ‘Dear Jesus, I want to love you and go to heaven! Take away my sins! I give myself to you, parasol and all!’ Then crying, she threw herself into her mother’s arms. ‘Mother,’ she said, ‘I am so happy, for Jesus loves me, and I love Him better than my parasol or anything else.’

“Her face was shining with happiness as she smiled at those around her. Then her mother explained that her little daughter had received the parasol as a present not long before. She loved it very much. She carried it with her everywhere, even taking it with her when she slept at night. But during the meetings the little girl has heard that we must give all to Jesus. What a struggle she had gone through before she was willing to give up her treasure! But now that it was over, and she had given all she had, her face was bright with her new joy.

“Then it was explained to the little girl that since she had given up everything for her Savior, and allowed nothing to stand between her and her love for Him it was right for her to keep her parasol and use it.

“As Ellen walked on across the campground she said to herself, ‘How hard it is to give up the parasol! Yet Jesus gave up heaven for our sake, and became poor, that we, through His poverty and suffering, might have heavenly riches.’ ” Life Sketches of James and Ellen G. White, 142.

Just as this little girl in Ellen White’s illustration gave up her most prized possession, we are called to do the same. Every thought, word, action and feeling we are to give to God and let Him mold and perfect. Our bodies (see Romans 12:1), our wills (see Matthew 26:39), and our souls (see Deuteronomy 6:5) are to be given unreservedly to our loving Father.

It is not because of an arbitrary desire for control or possession that God wishes our submission to Him. Quite the contrary, God knows that only through total surrender can we gain. Our finite minds cling so tightly to what we have here because we cannot fathom the immeasurable wealth that God has in store for us if we choose to follow Him. Freedom from the confines of sin and pain, and freedom from our earthly endeavors, is what He offers us so that we are free to partake of His riches. “When you give up your own will, your own wisdom, and learn of Christ, you will find admittance into the kingdom of God.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 110. But let us consider also what Jesus surrendered for our sakes. “Do we talk about self-denial? What did Christ give for us? When you think it hard that Christ requires all, go up to mount Calvary and weep there over such a thought. Behold the hands and feet of your Deliverer torn by the cruel nails, that you may be washed from sin by his own blood.” Truly what God requires of us is a pittance in contrast to what we have already received. And still God does not ask this of us for His sake, but for ours.

“Many are inquiring, ‘How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?’ You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you; but you need not despair. What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him.” Steps to Christ, 47.

We are fallible humans, incapable of perfection on our own accord. Hence, it would stand to reason that the only way we could partake of the immense riches God has waiting for us is to be guided by Him to accept His gift of the Holy Spirit to cleanse us and allow ourselves to be hidden in Him. There is no way to do this aside from being in accordance with God spiritually, intellectually, and physically; thus, to surrender our whole beings. “The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy and shall do his bidding in the end.” The Desire of Ages, 324. [Emphasis supplied] We must be willing to sacrifice everything if we are to gain freedom. We all have sin that keeps us separated from Heaven and true freedom. Our duty is to be willing to separate from ourselves and cling to Jesus. Leave self behind and put on Christ. Christ was able to carry out His Father’s will through God’s strength. We also are able to carry out God’s will through the strength Jesus imparts to us.

How much is Christ’s sacrifice and eternal life worth to us? In Matthew 13:44, we see a man plowing a field, anxious to begin sowing the field when his plow hits something hard. He goes to see what he has bumped into and finds a vast treasure that has been buried there. When he sees the wealth that has been concealed in the field, he decides then and there that he must buy it, for it is worth more than all his assets. Where would he obtain the money to make the purchase? He is not independently wealthy; there is no savings account set aside. The only option is to sell all he currently owns to acquire the field. But what a simple choice to make, given the untold wealth he has just unearthed. “This parable illustrated the value of the heavenly treasure, and the effort that should be made to obtain it. The finder of the treasure in the field was ready to part with all that he had, ready to put forth untiring labor, in order to secure the hidden riches. So the finder of heavenly treasure will count no labor too great and no sacrifice too dear, in order to gain the treasures of truth.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 103. This man was willing to give his all for the treasure he found. Are we willing to give our all for the treasure God has promised us? “Those who feel the constraining love of God ask not how little may be given, in order to obtain the heavenly reward; they ask not for the lowest standard, but aim at a perfect conformity to the will of their Redeemer. With ardent desire they will yield all, and manifest zeal proportionate to the value of the object they are in pursuit of. What is the object? Immortality, eternal life.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 2, 260.

The brief life of Betty Scott Stam is a powerful example of utter surrender to Christ. And though she and her husband met with a terrible end, they, like we, are called to carry the cross of Christ. And where did the cross lead but to Calvary?

They were young missionaries serving with the China Inland Missions in the early 1930s. Scarcely one year after their marriage in China, they found themselves caught up in the advance of the Communists into the town where they were living. They were captured, held for an exorbitant ransom, marched through the streets of the village, and they were beheaded.

Betty Scott had been raised in China. She was the daughter of a Presbyterian missionary couple. Perhaps her childhood of faith, her utter dependence on God, and her preparation for giving her life for the gospel can be best witnessed in the words of her own poetry.

At age ten she wrote:

I cannot live like Jesus
Example though He be
For He was strong and selfless
And I am tied to me.
I cannot live like Jesus
My soul is never free
My will is strong and stubborn
My love is weak and wee.
But I have asked my Jesus
To live His life in me.
I cannot look like Jesus
More beautiful is He
In soul and eye and stature
Than sunrise on the sea.
Behold His warm, His tangible
His dear humanity.
Behold His white perfection
Of purest deity.
Yet Jesus Christ has promised
That we like Him shall be.

As a young woman of eighteen, she wrote this:

Lord, I give up all my own plans
and purposes
All my own desires and hopes
And accept Thy will for my life.
I give myself, my life, my all
Utterly to Thee to be Thine
forever.
Fill me and seal me with
Thy Holy Spirit
Use me as Thou wilt, send me
where Thou wilt
And work out Thy will in my life
at any cost now and forever.

This young woman was ready to worship her Lord in life or death, to give her whole soul; and eventually she gave her life for His divine service.

Sometimes when we surrender ourselves to God we are subjected to experiences that make us question God’s purpose. What is God doing? How is this going to work for good? “God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him.” The Desire of Ages, 224. What an amazing promise. In this life we may not understand why some things are taking place, however, if we knew all things, we would not choose anything different. It is a great comfort to know that, even when Satan throws ugly hurdles in our path, God is still in command and works all things for His glory and our eternal benefit.

In The Great Controversy Ellen White speaks extensively of the religious reformers Huss and Jerome. In their lives we see the courage to surrender everything to God and the intense anguish suffered as a result of doing so. However, God did not allow their sacrifice on His behalf to be without good purpose, without reward. “His [Huss’] persecutors vainly imagined that they had rooted out the truths he preached. Little did they dream that the ashes that day borne away to the sea were to be as seed scattered in all the countries of the earth; that in lands yet unknown it would yield abundant fruit in witness to the truth. The voices which had spoken in the council hall of Constance had wakened echoes that would be heard through all coming ages. Huss was no more, but the truths for which he died could never perish. His example of faith and constancy would encourage multitudes to stand firm for the truth, in the face of torture and death. His execution had exhibited to the whole world the perfidious cruelty of Rome. The enemies of the truth, though they knew it not, had been furthering the cause which they so vainly sought to destroy.” The Great Controversy, 110. And the same was true of Jerome’s execution. “So perish God’s faithful light bearers. But the light of truth which they proclaimed—the light of their heroic example—could not be extinguished. … But those [the writings of Wycliffe] that had escaped destruction were now brought out from their hiding places and studied in connection with the Bible, … and many were thus led to accept the reformed faith.” Ibid., 115. Had they known the end from the beginning, had they been able to see the good resulting from the forfeit of their lives, through God’s strength, neither man would have chosen a different path. However, not knowing, they still chose to surrender themselves to a higher purpose through trust and confidence in the character and promises of Jesus Christ.

Every new day requires us to surrender anew to the will of our Heavenly Father. A commitment to trust that no matter what we may forfeit, whatever we put into His hands, will be used to shape our characters such that we may put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. Through our unconditional surrender, God will also work for the betterment of others and for their eternal life. There is nothing so great that we would give to God that would equal His reward for those faithful to Him.

A network engineer, Jana Grosboll lives in Derby, Kansas. She may be e-mailed at: janawwjd@yahoo.com.