“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
I’m old enough to remember with great affection singing from hymnals at church. That was back in the day when the musical accompaniment was limited to a piano unless the church was more affluent—in that case, there would also be an organ.
When the music director—”worship leaders” weren’t a thing in those days—stepped to the podium, the choir rose in unison behind him. Lifting his arms, he encouraged us (the congregation) to stand, open our hymnals, and sing the first of a series of hymns chosen to complement the pastor’s sermon. And sing we did. Loudly, enthusiastically, some on key, others not so much. I remember one otherwise quiet, shy man who sang loudly with all his heart—monotone—he had one note and never veered from it.
One song we sang frequently was “I Surrender All.” Maybe you remember it.
The song’s second verse came to mind as I read Oswald Chambers’ writing on “The Exclusiveness of Christ.” Chambers writes that Jesus invites us “to come to Him.” It’s a seemingly simple request. Right? But in our hearts, we know that responding to His call means we may need to lay aside something precious to us—something we don’t want to turn loose.
It may be a habit, a relationship, a possession, an activity, or the idea of remaining in control—whatever it may be, we want to hold on to it. We are unwilling to surrender fully. We tell ourselves in the big scheme of things, holding back that “one little thing” is trivial. We rationalize that such a little thing couldn’t possibly stand in the way of complete surrender to Jesus or our ability to be used in His service.
I don’t know whether we fully understood and embraced the meaning of the words we were singing “back in the day,” perhaps some did, but no doubt most of us did not. At least we sang the words enthusiastically, allowing for the possibility that truth might embed itself in some.
I surrender all.
What does it mean to surrender?
To surrender is to yield or give one’s self and possessions over to the power of another, recognizing that defeat is inevitable. To surrender is to relinquish one’s rights or claims to another, to give up to the power of another. It is placing our trust, faith, hopes, and dreams in the hands of someone or something else.
Let’s be honest. Surrendering is hard. It goes against human nature. The Old Man—our unsanctified flesh will hold on for dear life—it wants to maintain control. It does not want to be surrendered—to be rendered powerless and no longer in charge. And it will fight to stay in power.
But when Jesus says, “Come to Me,” we have a choice to make and a decision to declare.
Will we surrender all and willingly follow the Savior? Or will we make the pretense of surrendering while holding on to the thing or things that we consider more important to us?
In the book of 2 Kings (2 Kings 24:18-13), King Zedekiah had a choice to surrender and submit to Babylon or trust the strength of his army in battle against the mighty forces of Babylon. The odds were not in his favor.
Jeremiah, the prophet of God, wrote of a private conversation with Zedekiah, King of Judah (Jeremiah 28:14-28). The prophet of God counseled the king that if he surrendered to Babylon, his life and the city would be spared, and the king’s house would continue. But, if he refused to submit to Babylon, the outcome would be disastrous for himself, his family, Jerusalem, and all of Judah.
King Zedekiah opted to listen to ungodly counsel, determined he and his army could save the kingdom without God. He chose to disregard the direct warning he had received from God’s prophet, Jeremiah. Zedekiah’s refusal to obey God and surrender to Babylon resulted in devastating consequences for the king, his family, and his kingdom. The once-blessed Kingdom of Judah was torn to the ground, and its people were exiled to foreign lands (2 Kings 25:1-21).
The arrogant and wicked king refused to surrender control of his kingdom and his position of power.
A wealthy young man approached Jesus to ask what, besides following all of the Law, was needed to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to surrender all he possessed and “Come, follow me.” The young man went away sorrowfully because he had great wealth.
The young man refused to surrender what meant the most to him to follow Jesus—his wealth and possessions.
We must ask ourselves, “Is there anything in my life that keeps me from following my Savior? Is there something I’m unwilling to surrender to be obedient to my God and fruitfully live out my faith?”
A refusal to surrender everything makes it impossible to follow when Jesus calls. We will never know the complete joy of our salvation if we insist on holding on to what should be surrendered.
Blessed are those willing to surrender all to follow Jesus with empty hands, faith-filled minds, and undivided hearts.
All to Jesus, I surrender.
Humbly at His feet I bow.
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me Jesus, take me now.
I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Jesus I surrender,
I surrender all.
“I Surrender All” by J. W. Van De Venter & W. S. Weeden
“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 ESV