Romans 6:16 — Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

I was reminded yesterday that surrender — yielding — was at the very heart of the Christian life. The other day I wrote about the idea that the church might have to lay aside some of its power and influence — to surrender its role in the establishment to gain a more central role in the life of those yet unsaved. The notion of personal surrender is, perhaps, more familiar. How often have you sung the simple hymn:

All to Jesus I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

I suppose I sing that hymn (written by Judson W. VenDeventer, whom Billy Graham claimed as an influence), in an altar call, once every three or four weeks. Today, I’m asking myself if I’m really being honest with myself.
Am I completely surrendered? Is there anything in my life that is getting too much of my time, energy and resources that should be being devoted to other things? The answer, of course, is “probably” … The hymn is based on Luke 14:33, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
It’s not, I think, a literal command (though others may disagree). It’s not a matter of getting rid of every possession – but of being ready to surrender anything that Jesus wants to be used for kingdom purposes.
I’d love to say that I feel completely comfortable ring-fencing some of my time, energy and things as “mine”, but if I’m honest I cannot avoid a scripture that has had one of the greatest convicting impressions on me:

Philippians 2:5-8 — Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus surrendered. Time and again He made it clear that nothing was for Him, and that His will was only to do the will of His Father. Jesus surrendered completely, so that we might also choose to surrender. Thinking about it adds a whole new shade of meaning to Ephesians 5:1-2, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.” That chapter, of course, goes on to talk about submission — another word for surrender.
As I’ve thought my way and written my way through this I’ve realized that there’s a lot of work and prayer to be done — and an oddly circular problem to solve. I have to surrender myself so that I can surrender all …