Sacrifice & Surrender

"Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." Matt 19:21-22

Oh, how many times I’ve said—or thought, “I’d give up everything to follow Jesus.” Then I wonder if I totally grasp the reality of that statement. Even reading Matt 19:20, I’ve thought, “If I was the young man I’d sell all, give to the poor, and follow Jesus.” And asked, “Why didn’t he just do it?”

Two things come to mind:

1. The boy didn’t understand the depths of what Jesus was offering when He said, “…thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

2. He was too emotionally/mentally connected to his possessions and, therefore, could not give them up.

Praise God I’ve been given understanding to what Jesus offers when He says, “…thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” Since He delivered me and my husband from the bondages of this world, a life of serving and an eternity with Him are all that my heart seeks (most of the time, if I’m being totally honest). So, I can’t really relate to #1. I can, however, strongly relate to #2.

Gaining and getting, more is better—this is what we’re taught. We become defined by our possessions, by our successes, by our relationships. Yet, when we come to Jesus, we come lost and seeking direction. From there, do we follow Him? I mean, really follow Him. Or do we simply find complacency in His place of rest?

Our studies at church have been pressing on being more than just “Christians” (especially as the Christian is defined in society), but moving forward as Christ’s disciples. Christ’s disciples followed Him. They didn’t simply come to Him for healing or deliverance; they left their families, all they had, to follow Him.

My heart tells me I want to follow Christ wherever He will lead me. Recently though, I realized following also requires taking direction. It’s more than just going with the flow. When that voice of direction says, “Get rid of _______ because it is hindering your progress forward,” do you take heed? When that voice says, “Stop putting other people before me,” do you stop and listen? Do you think of the sacrifices necessary?

Sacrifice begins with surrender. So how surrendered are we? We want—and even experience—the blessings, the gifts, the supernatural moves of the Spirit; hence, most of us believe we’re surrendered enough. But are we surrendered enough to sacrifice (to give up that which is dear to us) when He asks?

When the Holy Ghost prompts us, we should listen and act. God has only good things in store for us. His perfect plan is what we have to trust in. “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Even when it doesn’t feel good, even when we can’t see the happy ending, even when we don’t understand the reason, we have to trust in His Word. God’s plans are perfect and in that we can rest all of our doubts and our lack of understanding.

It is, however, easier said than done most of the time. Sacrifice requires surrendering ourselves to the point of being able to give something up that we don’t really want to. Otherwise, there really is no sacrifice.

If He asked, could we give up…

Our possessions: that nice car, our comfy homes, hard-earned money
Our images: clothing, music, jobs, reputations
Our hobbies: internet, TV, movies, racing, sports
Our friends, our own plans for our futures
Your husband, your wife, even your children—not to leave them, but to accept the place each has according to the Word of God.

Nothing can come before the Lord. If it occupies more of our thoughts, more of our time, more of our devotion, then we have not sacrificed to follow Jesus.

From experience, it hurts. It does not feel good to give up that which we enjoy, to lessen relationships that consume us, to separate ourselves from the things that are not of God. Our flesh wants those things; it desires those things. But, I’m sure it didn’t feel good when Jesus suffered to be the ultimate sacrifice for us either. I’m sure His flesh desired another route. Nonetheless, He accepted His calling—to do the will of His Father in heaven.

Have we accepted ours?