29th July 2023

Surrender for freedom

Wait – what? We don’t usually use those two words in the same sentence. Surrender is the last thing most people think of because we’d all rather fight and win, not give up. That’s exactly what us Americans celebrate on 4 July – our ancestors fought for freedom and won, and now almost 250 years later, we still enjoy the freedom they and others provided us, many with their lives. But when Jesus turned the world upside down, his followers learned there’s another meaning to the word surrender. 

People seem in a real fighting mood these days, arguing, bickering and even coming to blows about any and everything. But Jesus told us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek. The only way to successfully do this, without anger and bitterness, is to completely surrender our wills to his. Our surrender to him gives us the freedom of putting everything in his hands and giving over every outcome to his care, including and perhaps especially those with whom we violently disagree. 

Dallas Willard said: “To abandon outcomes to God is to accept that we do not have in ourselves – in our own ‘heart, soul, mind, and strength’ – the wherewithal to make this come out right, whatever ‘this’ is. We don’t try to make things happen. We don’t try to get people to do things. We don’t manage our image. We learn to abandon outcomes in Jesus’ easy yoke. It is the secret to peace!” 

Surrendering everything to Jesus gives us the peace and freedom to live as he wants us to live – from deep within his love and the intimacy of communion with him.

Study by Tammy Tkach

First published on 4 July 2023, at www.gemsofgodsgrace.wordpress.com

About the writer:
Tammy Tkach is the Assistant Pastor of the Eugene, Oregon, USA congregation. She is a speaker and writer, and publishes a blog at www.gemsofgodsgrace.wordpress.com  

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