I quote A.W. Tozer a lot here, and never cease to be amazed how relevant his teachings are more than half a century after his death. Here is a selection from a recent reading of his writings: “There is no limit to what God could do in our world if we would dare to surrender before Him with a commitment like this: ‘Oh God, I hereby give myself to You. I give my family. I give my business. I give all I possess.
Take all of it, Lord-and take me! I give myself in such measure that if it is necessary that I lose everything for your sake, let me lose it. I will not ask what the price is. I will ask only that I may be all that I ought to be as a follower and disciple of Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.’
Tozer lamented, “God wants to deliver us from the easygoing, smooth and silky, fat and comfortable Christianity so fashionable today”. We have too many so-called Christians who confess Jesus with their mouths but deny Him with their lives. We want the benefits without any of the cost. Read Tozer’s prayer again; could you honestly pray that for your life? Are you willing to lose your business or job for the sake of Christ? How about your family? What matters most to you in this world? Would you be willing to throw it away if Jesus asked you to do so?
We are in the business of gaining cheap conversions that are worth nothing. Just raise your hand, pray a prayer, and congratulations, you are a Christ follower. Never mind there’s not a shred of Biblical basis for this type of conversion, the reality is most don’t have any idea about what they are signing up for. We tell them when they’ve had enough, they can come to Jesus and He will make everything better. The truth is following Jesus will almost always make your life a lot more uncomfortable and unpredictable.
The world doesn’t need any more comfortable Christians. I submit “comfortable Christian” is an oxymoron. If you’re comfortable, there’s a good chance you’re not a Christian. Jesus didn’t suffer a horrible death so you could live a life of ease and luxury. He didn’t proclaim Himself to be the Son of God so you could cower and hide your beliefs from your friends and co-workers.
If you aren’t willing to give up everything for Jesus, you cannot be His disciple. You’re either all in or left behind. If we can’t give everything we are and everything we have, then we may as well give nothing at all. Surrendering your life to Christ means exactly that… you surrender. You give up. Everything you thought was yours you leave behind for the privilege of gaining Him. Nothing can be held back, it all has to go. Join the comfortable Christians if you like. In the end you will spend eternity with them. I’d rather throw it all away and spend eternity with Jesus.