The Surrendered Life

Mea e 'ai e tatau ma le aso
“I have been crucified with Christ ” (Galatians 2:20)

To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things.   Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go of everything we know, before we can grasp something else.   We must be willing to emptying ourselves completely, in order to be filled by His Spirit.

The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretending or deceitfulness.   What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not our goodness, or honesty, or even our efforts to do better, but He wants us to present to Him the real depth of our sinfulness. 

Actually, that is all He can take from us. And what He gives us in exchange for our sin is His Holy righteousness.   But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything, and give up all our claims of even being worthy of God’s consideration.

Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next, as He molds us as a potter's clay.  Along each step of this process, we will even have to give up claims to our rights to ourselves.   For  "ye are not your own?...For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?

We will suffer sharp disillusionment before we fully surrender, that's natural. When people really see themselves as the Lord sees them, it is not the terribly offensive sins of the flesh that shock them, but the awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ will.

When they see themselves in the light of the Lord, the shame, horror, and desperate conviction will hit home.

If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a decision to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to Him. And God will then equip you to do all that He requires of you.

Because if you're truly “... been crucified with Christ ”  as Paul was, your old self would have been crucified with Jesus, and rise again anew, as with Christ to a new and  better life.

Ia manuia,

failauga p. anoa'i