I Surrender Some

My son John and his family live less than 10 miles from my wife and me, so I “find excuses” to make the trip to their house often, especially to play with my 6-year-old granddaughter and 3-year-old grandson. And I’m good at finding those excuses.

On every trip home, I pass an abandoned construction site. For at least five years, all that has been on the site is a four-story concrete tower, which I presume would house the stairs. No construction equipment has been on the site for years. Just the lonely elevator shaft.

The Cost of Being a Disciple

That brought to mind something Jesus said in the gospels. In Luke 14:28, Jesus says, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?”

The broader context is Luke 14:25-33, which my Bible titles “The Cost of Being a Disciple.” Large crowds had started following Jesus, and he challenged them to consider how being a Christ-follower would change their lives. Jesus highlighted five key thoughts (italics mine):

1. v26: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”
2. v27: “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
3. v28-30: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”
4. v31-32: “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?  If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.”
5. v33: ”In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciple.”

Surrender is as Easy as ABC

Becoming a Christian looks as easy as the ABCs we sing about in VBS songs:

• Accept – that you are a great sinner in need of a great Savior
• Believe – that only Jesus can redeem your sins
• Confess – your sins and turn your life over to Jesus as your Lord and Savior

But Jesus calls us to be more than that – to become Christ-followers (disciples), following His example. Philippians 2:8 speaks of Jesus: “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross.”

In other words, a disciple of Christ needs to count the cost and be willing to surrender anything and everything, much like Abraham was called on to surrender his promised son, Israel.

I Surrender All – Maybe

A song I’ve sung in church since I became a Christian 40 years ago is “I Surrender All”. Way too often, we sing the song, but our lives reflect “I Surrender Some”. I’ll surrender some of my finances when I have extra. I’ll surrender my time on Sunday morning and maybe Wednesday night if I don’t have something better to do. Volunteering and mission trips are for the pastoral staff and deacons and retired folks that don’t play pickleball every day.

With the examples in Luke 14:25-33, Jesus calls Christians to surrender our friends, our families, our lifestyles, our priorities, and maybe even our own lives.

The Rich Young Ruler

Mark 10:17-25 tells the story of someone we affectionately call “The Rich Young Ruler”. The ruler had followed the letter of the Jewish Law regarding tithes and sacrifices. He felt that he was a “good person” and stated he had kept the laws since childhood.

When Jesus called the young man to abandon his lifestyle, give up everything, and follow Jesus, we saw the condition of the young man’s heart. He held his “stuff” closer to his heart than he did Jesus.

Will You Surrender All?

Are you fully committed to Jesus, willing to cheerfully give up everything, or do you fall in the “I Surrender Some” category?

Matthew 6:19-21 challenges us with “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

As Christians, our priorities should be heavenly, doing God’s Will for His glory.

Matthew 16:26 continues the challenge, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

Focus on Godly things.

Fully Committed

Dwight L Moody said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.” While Moody didn’t originate the quote, he certainly lived it. Today we recognize him as the founder of the Moody Church, the Moody Bible Institute, and Moody Publishers.

Peter immediately dropped his nets to follow Jesus.

Matthew (at the time Levi) immediately left a lucrative business as a tax collector (and exhorter) to follow Jesus.

Again, what about you?

Is your Christian life like the lonely four-story elevator shaft? Did you start on the Christian journey some years back and are now “coasting”, doing “God things” whenever they fit in your busy schedule of family, work, and “real life”?

Matthew 13:45-46 has the parable of the Pearl of Great Price:  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Surrender All – Put Your Whole Self In

You may have heard about the “bacon and egg commitment”. The chicken may be involved in your breakfast, but the pig is totally committed.

Many years back, I got my bachelor’s and master’s Degrees at Virginia Tech. Our school mascot is the Hokie so you can imagine that often the “Hokey Pokey” was sung at sports events. One line of the song always jumps out to me: “Put your whole self in.”

That’s what Jesus asks of Christians – to surrender all and put our whole self in.

After all, that’s exactly what Jesus did because of His great love for you.

 

 

Images are from Pixabay, Unsplash, and ChatGPT-generated.