In her book, “Passport through Darkness”, Kimberly L. Smith writes, “who of us wants to give up our notion of what we think our lives should look like so that we are available for Him to use?” Read that again and let it sink in. I think it hits at what lies at the root of our reluctance to fully surrender our lives to Jesus. We all have dreams and ambitions, a vision for what we want our lives to look like. Quite honestly, serving Jesus tends to get in the way of the pursuit of those dreams. Following Christ necessitates that we let go of all of our ambitions and plans; all of them, no exceptions. That’s a heavy cost that most are not willing to pay.
commitment
Gateway Sins
According to Wikipedia, “The gateway drug theory (also called gateway theory, gateway hypothesis and gateway effect) states that the use of less deleterious drugs can lead to a future risk of using more dangerous hard drugs or crime.” I think sin is a lot like this. Satan uses a “gateway sin” strategy to lure us into situations where we never expected to find ourselves. I’ve observed that the strategies of Satan are fairly consistent, merely variations on a theme. His goal, much as it was in the Garden of Eden, is to only slightly blur the lines for us. He doesn’t try and whitewash the entire canvas.
Feed My Sheep
If you grew up in church or have been studying the Bible for awhile now, you are probably familiar with the conversation Jesus and Peter had in John 21:15-19. This took place after Jesus had risen from the dead, and He was hanging out with His disciples on the beach. After eating breakfast together, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Peter got a little offended that Jesus kept asking him the same question, probably assuming Jesus wasn’t buying his answer. Most Bible teachers say the three questions corresponded to Peter denying Jesus three times after Jesus had been arrested. Perhaps that’s true, but I think there’s more to be gleaned from this story.
Legacy
I believe it the responsibility and duty of each follower of Jesus to leave a legacy worthy of their calling. We have been given a finite number of days between birth and death to honor our Creator and to further His mission on earth. Too many of us proclaim Jesus to be the Lord of our lives and then live in a manner that makes no impact for the Kingdom. If Jesus is your Lord, then you will live each day with the intention of being obedient to Him and walking in His footsteps. That’s what it means to surrender your life to Him. You can’t claim He is Lord and then live a life that looks no different from that of those around you.
Live Worthy of Your Calling
When we choose to follow Christ, we agree to surrender everything to Him. We, in effect, become His slave or His prisoner. This is not a negative, not slavery in the traditional sense, but it does mean that every move we make is now dedicated to God. We were given the gift of freewill at creation; when we make the decision to follow Jesus we are giving that freewill back to Him and letting Him know that we willingly submit to His plans and His desires for our lives. From this point forward everything we do will be a result of His will. We are captivated by His love, indeed captive to His love. It is in this way that we become His prisoner.