A Willingness To Surrender

 “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

  • To “renounce all that I have”, what would this look like for me? What is Jesus asking? Because, for someone like me with control issues, this verse is a bit scary, just being honest! 
  • A dictionary definition for the word “renounce” is to, “formerly declare one’s abandonment of, a claim, right, or possession”; reject or stop using”. Biblically it means, “to sever any bond or claim that may exist”.
  • So, what is it that I or we, hold tightly to? What would be hard for you to surrender if God asked you to? Or if He removed it from your life? Is it an attitude? Behavior? Money? Success? Person? It will be different for all of us. Anything we set up as an idol that we “worship” instead of God. And as we learn from various Old Testament stories, God will not tolerate anything we place above Him. We are told in Deuteronomy 6:5(NIV), “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” And in Exodus 20:3(NIV), God commands us, ‭‭ ““You shall have no other gods before me”.
  • Another verse that can be difficult for me to understand is Luke 14:26, where Jesus says, ““If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” This is confusing for me to think about. In this verse I am to “hate”? Yet in other Scriptures Jesus calls me to love others as I love myself; or treat others as I would want to be treated. In Oswald Chambers, “Utmost For His Highest”, for March 19th, I found this explanation that helped me see what Jesus may have meant. Oswald says, we are to “be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints”. 
  • A willingness to be different; to respond as Jesus would whether others agree or not. To follow the Spirit’s lead even if I’m criticized or misunderstood. To love Jesus more than my need for approval; to fit in; or not rock the boat. 
  • For me to renounce is also about letting go. ‭Not clinging so tightly to what I have or even what I do; learning not to be so possessive. A willingness to share. 
  • I am reminded of the rich fool that Jesus talks about in Luke 12:16-20. What struck me about this parable, was how the farmer never gives any gratitude to God for all he's been given. It's all about what he's done. What he's accumulated. That his possessions would help him rest easy. He put his faith in his "stuff" instead of God. 
  • May we learn to hold things loosely whatever they may be, May we be willing to surrender what God may ask of us, and May we take to heart Psalm 118:8-9(NIV), “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
  • And always remember, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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“All to Jesus, I surrender

All to Thee I freely give

I will ever love and trust You

In Your presence daily liv‭‭e” Robin Mark

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