The Journey of Surrender

 

One of my all-time favorite movie series is The Lord of the Rings. It’s full of powerful themes and truths, and it’s just so good!

If you’ve seen The Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie in the series, you can probably remember the moment all the characters decide they’re going to take that first step of the journey to destroy the ring of power in Mordor. It was the hardest thing to come to the place where the whole group, the “Fellowship of the Ring,” would be all in to make that first-step decision.

On our journeys with Jesus (getting back on track here), sometimes people confuse the first step with when they say “yes” to Jesus for the first time. I’m talking about something much deeper: the first step of living in full surrender to God.

On some level, lots of people know they need spiritual renewal. They know their life isn’t what it ought to be or could be. They know something’s missing, but they’re not willing to take that very first step.

But you have.

As a Christ-follower, you’re already a brand new creation, but God is in the process of doing ongoing surgery on your heart. And so now the question becomes: What’s next? And how do we navigate the journey the best we can?

Here’s what I want you to know about the journey: God’s over-arching intention for each one of us is that we learn how to live upward, inward, and outward.

Maybe that sounds strange, but I get this from what’s known as the Greatest Commandment in Matthew 22. People asked Jesus, “What’s the most important thing in life?” And He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And the second most important is like it: you should love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

So what Jesus is saying is it’s all about love. The first step is that we love God with all of our hearts. I call this living upward.

And then, our beliefs drive the way we see ourselves. We see ourselves through the lens of the cross of Jesus Christ. That’s inward.

And finally, we can love our neighbors as we love ourselves. And ultimately, that drives us to move out into the world and truly demonstrate God’s love to others–what I call outward living.

As we think about our lives in this upward, inward, and outward framework, I want you to let God’s love literally transform your life and the way you see yourself. Ultimately, the outgrowth of God’s love for you will have an absolutely huge impact on the way you feel, not only about God, but about yourself and other people.