I have a very hard time with surrender. Though I disdain the typical DisneyLand presentation of Christianity (get in line, bow your head, pray after me, and punch your ticket to happily-ever-after), I struggle to translate the idea of self-abandonment to Christ-centered life into my words, will, and actions. I know that part of the problem is my small view of God. I don't realize just how words-can't-describe his love, grace, truth, and justice actually are. And if I have a small view of the object of my faith, how life-forming, adversity-overcoming, and sustainable can my faith really be?
The true gospel is both a revelation of God's character (*very* good news), and a revelation of our utter need for him (whether acknowledged or not). As I continue to learn how amazing God is, surrender seems to me the only reasonable response. And for us Americans, the nuts and bolts of our surrender is in relying on God's power instead of our own. Here are two ways that come to my mind:
1. I need to have eyes to see the many blessings in every moment, every breath, every person, and every landscape created and sustained by the Creator of the universe. It is through God's power in me and all around me that I live, not of my own design.
2. I need to allow myself to be led into situations where my power is inadequate. How many times have I felt that faint hint of a prompting and instead I brushed it off as uncomfortable, inconvenient, or unimportant? I can think of three instances in my last month.
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