Theme

:: The Surrendered Life

We are all called to live the surrendered life the moment we repented, asked Jesus to forgive us and committed to be His faithful followers. Yet many people stop just before the "follow" part, because really that is when the work begins. That is when the sacrifice starts. Salvation is a free gift (Eph. 2:8) from God but there is a price to pay to be His disciple. It's called following. Following requires obedience, and that only happens with a surrendered heart.

I can still recall as a teenager how reluctant I was to become a Christian because I did not want to give up the life I was living. One particular evening at a church, the pastor gave an invitation to come to the altar to receive Christ. Under great conviction, I knew this was my moment. After years of trying to avoid this commitment, I broke down. I knew that God was calling me to do as Joshua said, "Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve."(Joshua 24:15) I stood up and began to make my way to the altar. Halfway there I stopped dead in my tracks. I stood there for what seemed like an eternity, as I contemplated what I was about to do next. I did not know much about being a Christian, but one thing I knew was that if this was going to be real then I needed to fully surrender my life to Him. I stood there and counted the cost of this decision, then made my way to that altar.

To be a follower of Jesus will cost you. We do not sing, "Take Half My Life and Let it be, or I Surrender Most". We sing, "Take All My Life! I Surrender All!" Jesus said, "If any one of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and the sake of the Good News you will save it." (Mark 8:34-35) He called His disciples to surrender their current vocations in life, their time, energy, and most importantly their hearts to Him. There is a cost to following Jesus, but I can assure you that it's worth the price. There is nothing this world can offer that could ever take the place of what God has done for us. (John 3:16)

In Mark 14:3, we read of a story where a woman came in and anointed Jesus with an entire jar of expensive perfume. One of the disciples became indignant and asked "Why this waste? It could have been sold for a year's wages and given to the poor." The disciples might have given Jesus a little a dab of perfume at best, but not Mary. Why? Because she knew He was worthy of so much more. In fact, He's worth it all! It was so costly. She literally gave her life to Him. Total Surrender!

Perhaps one of the best stories I ever heard on Surrender was that of a man named Bill Borden. On Dec 17, 1912 Bill Borden boarded a ship for China via Egypt. His missionary career would be among History's briefest. Borden was born into an upper class family on Chicago's Gold coast, heir to a fortune in real estate and milk production. His mother became a Christian and young Bill began attending Chicago's Moody Church with her, soon becoming a Christian himself. Shortly afterward, when Pastor R.A. Torrey challenged worshippers to dedicate their lives to God's service, William quietly arose and stood for a long time while the service went on. There was no wavering. This marked a consecration from which he never retreated.

Later, at Yale University, Bill became a star athlete. He was good looking, worth $50,000,000 and committed to Christ. At a student missions conference in Nashville, he was deeply moved by Samuel Zwemer to reach the Muslims. Following graduation, he announced that he was giving his immense inheritance to the cause of world missions. He joined the China Inland Mission, planning to evangelize the Muslims in China.

On the eve of his departure for language study in Egypt, his widowed mother asked Bill if he had done the right thing, giving up fortune and homeland. "In the quiet of my room that night, worn weary and sad, I fell asleep asking myself again and again, is it after all worthwhile? In the morning as I awoke, a still small voice was speaking in my heart, answering, 'God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.' " A month after arriving in Egypt, Borden contracted spinal meningitis. He was dead in two weeks, but he left a final message stuffed underneath his pillow, "No Reserve! No Retreat! No Regrets!"

The story of his sacrifice was retold in newspapers across America. The publication of his biography resulted in a dramatic leap in numbers of young people who surrendered themselves as living sacrifices for the Lord of the Harvest. Bill Borden surrendered his wealth, his way back home, and everything that would have come with that in order that he might live in the purposes of God for his life. No Reserve! No Retreat! No Regrets!

What message will your life leave behind? The Bible is clear on this point, that one day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Philippians 2:10-11) Jesus spelled it out for us in Mark 12: 30, "You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and with all your strength." Let's call and equip this generation to surrender it all.

Mike Love
Extreme Dream Ministries