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"Peter began to say to Him, ’See, we have left
all and followed You’ " - Mark 10:28
Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is
"for My sake and the gospel’s" (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the
disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated
by personal benefits that may result. For example, "I’m going to give myself to
God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy."
Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with
God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the
true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any
personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for
something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, "No, Lord, I
don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with
Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ’This
is what God has done for me.’ " Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and
being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in
real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for
Jesus Christ Himself.
Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural
relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse—"Yes, Lord, I heard
you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go
any further" (see Luke 9:57-62 ). "Then," Jesus says, "you ’cannot be My
disciple’ " (see Luke 14:26-33 ).
True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up,
God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their
needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of
total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means,
but have never truly experienced it.
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