I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Jesus, blessed Savior, I surrender all. I could see it now: a congregation of members standing in the pews. Arms are stretched towards the sky, heads are bowed. And in that sacred moment, a person feels like they've finally touched Heaven. They've finally experienced God. |
Despite its simplicity, the song has a lot of depth to it. It's often sung, often quoted, often said. But how often do we actually live out its meaning? Are we really surrendering every part of our lives to God? Or are there still some areas that we hide away from God?
The term “Christian” is now so overused. Practically anyone just claims to be a Christian. But it’s more than prayers at meals and Sunday services.
It's so easy to be a Sunday Christian. You wake up, go to church, shout the loudest amen’s and hallelujah’s, and read every single passage the minister calls out. Then the service is over, and Monday rolls by.
Fellow believer, you can't do that. Not surrendering all of yourself to God is saying "God, you can have this section of my life. But this here is a “Do Not Disturb” zone. You can't have any of that."
Thought: What does ‘experiencing God’ mean to you? | Experiencing God doesn't come from halfhearted worship, or doing things just because one is "supposed to". It doesn’t even matter whether or not your arms touch the ceiling. |
While actions do speak louder than words, it comes from a passion, a desire to know God. A longing to have a true relationship with Him.
Imagine if God didn't truly love us. If that had been the case, He could have easily abandoned the work on Earth. However, His love was so great, He died on the cross.
I believe this gives God the right to be jealous. This means that whatever belongs to Him, He does not want given to another person. That’s why He says in Isaiah 42:8 that “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” He wants and He needs to be in every part of our life.
To me, it’s like one is pouring out His love in abundance with all displays of affection. Meanwhile, the recipient is distractedly glancing away at…oooh, something shiny…
I can’t even begin to imagine how infuriating that must be. But I thank God for His endless patience and grace.
Worship, praise and glory belong unto God, so when we serve idols of this world, we are incurring God’s wrath. His jealousy is different from sinful jealousy, because He only wants what rightfully belongs to Him. For example, if your future spouse was flirting with another person, you would be jealous, right? That sort of jealousy is not sinful, because your spouse is rightfully yours.
In the same way, God only desires and is jealous when something that belongs to Him is withheld from Him. So when we are obeying Satan’s voice to commit sin, we can’t say that God is truly our Lord. At that point, we are being hypocrites, because we walk in darkness, but say that we are in the light.
Every single action of ours must glorify God. We need to deny ourselves and follow Him. We need to be His heart, hands and voice.
His heart:
We need God to take total reign over our thoughts and emotions. Instead of allowing internal sins like anger and lust take rule, we need to forsake them. Rather, we need to exchange them for forgiveness, love and the fruit of the Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit is exactly that: the results of the Spirit dwelling in us.
His hands:
Our life needs to reflect God. Our actions need to show people the way to God. Even when we don't preach, we have to show people that we aren't just their average person. We are Christians, ambassadors of Christ.
His voice:
Our words should be loving. They should never be used to condemn people. When correcting others, we do so in love. When receiving correction, we do so in humility. As Christians, we are instruments that God uses to lead others to Christ. If all people hear are words of hatred, malice and judgment, how would they be willing to serve Him?
I think the band Selah displays that amazingly, as they told others about God in a foreign country. Just like them, we are also in a foreign land: Planet Earth.
How will you portray God?
Imagine if God didn't truly love us. If that had been the case, He could have easily abandoned the work on Earth. However, His love was so great, He died on the cross.
I believe this gives God the right to be jealous. This means that whatever belongs to Him, He does not want given to another person. That’s why He says in Isaiah 42:8 that “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” He wants and He needs to be in every part of our life.
To me, it’s like one is pouring out His love in abundance with all displays of affection. Meanwhile, the recipient is distractedly glancing away at…oooh, something shiny…
I can’t even begin to imagine how infuriating that must be. But I thank God for His endless patience and grace.
Worship, praise and glory belong unto God, so when we serve idols of this world, we are incurring God’s wrath. His jealousy is different from sinful jealousy, because He only wants what rightfully belongs to Him. For example, if your future spouse was flirting with another person, you would be jealous, right? That sort of jealousy is not sinful, because your spouse is rightfully yours.
In the same way, God only desires and is jealous when something that belongs to Him is withheld from Him. So when we are obeying Satan’s voice to commit sin, we can’t say that God is truly our Lord. At that point, we are being hypocrites, because we walk in darkness, but say that we are in the light.
Every single action of ours must glorify God. We need to deny ourselves and follow Him. We need to be His heart, hands and voice.
His heart:
We need God to take total reign over our thoughts and emotions. Instead of allowing internal sins like anger and lust take rule, we need to forsake them. Rather, we need to exchange them for forgiveness, love and the fruit of the Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit is exactly that: the results of the Spirit dwelling in us.
His hands:
Our life needs to reflect God. Our actions need to show people the way to God. Even when we don't preach, we have to show people that we aren't just their average person. We are Christians, ambassadors of Christ.
His voice:
Our words should be loving. They should never be used to condemn people. When correcting others, we do so in love. When receiving correction, we do so in humility. As Christians, we are instruments that God uses to lead others to Christ. If all people hear are words of hatred, malice and judgment, how would they be willing to serve Him?
I think the band Selah displays that amazingly, as they told others about God in a foreign country. Just like them, we are also in a foreign land: Planet Earth.
How will you portray God?