A Matter of Surrender

Have you ever thought how many situations in life, from marriage, to having to a general anaesthetic, to getting on a bus, involve an element of surrender? To a greater or lesser degree we surrender to someone else our right to control our life.

This is very much the case when we have a general anaesthetic for an an operation. We are surrendering control of our body, and sometimes even our life, into the hands of another. Of course, we trust that they are competent and can be trusted to look after our best interests, but the reality is that sometimes people die during an operation.

At the other end of the scale, this is also true of when we get on a bus, or into a car driven by someone else. We are putting our lives in their hands. Of course, statistically speaking, the chances of us being killed or injured or killed are not high, but the risk is still there. I once knew a lovely Christian lady who had a panic attack if she had to ride in a car driven by someone else.

The essence of the marriage service, as our Prayer Book expresses it, is that each partner surrenders their individual right and property to the other. However, this is rarely done in practice and is, I believe, one of the major reasons for the very high rate of marriage breakdowns that we see today. The idea of surrendering to someone else in a lifelong commitment is foreign to the thinking of the age.

The spirit of the age is one of individualism. My identity, value and right as an individual are to be preserved and promoted above all else. And in order for this to happen, I have to be in control. So, although the post-modern person recognises that some rights have to be surrendered in order for us to function as a community, that is only ever done in a controlled and limited way.

This attitude greatly affects our understanding of the Christian life and our level of commitment. While we may be willing to forgo some worldly pleasures for the benefits we receive from being a Christian, most of us still want to retain essential control over our lives.

I had a conversation last week with someone who had responded to what I wrote last Sunday about the gift of tongues. This person has been thinking for some time about the difference that the Holy Spirit makes in the kind of Christian life we live. Their observation is that many Anglican Churches know and teach the theory of Christian life, but show very little evidence of the practical reality of what they believe and the power they profess.

Most Anglican churches in Sydney are very strong on the gospel message of what Jesus did for us in dying on the cross. They are very clear on the need for all men to repent of their sin and put their faith in Jesus Christ. And they have many testimonies of people who have been "born again", and lives that have been transformed as a consequence of that commitment.

Sydney Anglicans also teach very strongly about God the Father, especially as Creator and Ruler of the Universe. But they rarely say much about God the Holy Spirit, as the one who empowers God's children to live as Christians. They have very little understanding or experience of the love of God that is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, or the gifts of God that the Holy Spirit imparts to God's children to enable them to minister in spiritual power. In fact, many churches teach that the spiritual gifts such as healing, prophecy, miracles and speaking in tongues no longer operate today! Thank God that some of us have discovered that this is not true!

The issue that I discussed wit my friend last week was why many Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christians do not experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit, even when they ask for them. The reason boiled down to a question of of surrender. In order to function in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially the gift of tongues, we have to surrender our desire to be in control! We have to put ourselves in God's hands and let Him do with us what He wants.

This is really the essence of what it means to be a Christian, and to confess that Jesus is Lord. Jesus himself said "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?" On another occasion Jesus said: "Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot by my disciple." (Luke 14:33) Surrendering to God may not be a popular notion in this present age, it it is absolutely essential if we are to receive the blessing of Eternal Life and the fullness of the Spirit.

John Davies
1 July 2001