“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.'”. -Luke 9:23-24
This verse has been a consistent presence in my mind for months now. What does it mean to truly surrender my life to the Lord? I have heard the word “surrender” in countless church sermons, worship songs, and faith-based books. Going to a Christian university, I hear the word on an almost daily basis. But up until recently, I never understood what the word truly meant.
My perception of “surrender” was the same as my walk with Christ: superficial, shallow, luke-warm, and reflective of my selfish desires. As 2015 continued on, so did an orderly sequence of seemingly-unimportant events that revealed to me how real, loving, and powerful Christ is. As I began searching and discovering what it means to truly love Christ, “surrender” became clearer and clearer.
As my love for Christ grew and our relationship reached greater feats, surrender became the greatest and most-natural response.
For a while, I have been praying to the Lord for clarity in regards of surrender. In response, He placed a number of events in my life that grew in me a desire for overseas service. After a life-changing missions trip to Thailand and attendance at the URBANA Missions Conference, the Lord put the desire at my lap: The World Race. A year of Kingdom-building and radical devotion to the Lord is my next step in a life of servitude to Him. I am at a place in life where I finally understand what it means to live a life reflecting of overflowing love for my Savior, and have no greater desire than to serve Him in this program as a result.
So, going back to the title of the post….Why I Go:
I go because my Lord has called me to go.
I go because total and radical surrender of my life is the only response to the love I have for my Savior.
I go because I wish to build His Kingdom anywhere and everywhere.
The Lord may call me into government, public policy, law, or something entirely different once 2017 ends. But, a life not fully given to God is a life never fulfilled. I am taking deliberative steps of surrender in order to fully realize a life in relationship with our Lord.
Thank you all for walking with me on this journey.
JM
