Blog

by Jason DeZurik

“There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.” -Oswald Chambers

Please take time and read that quote again.

Truly pray, ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, and consider what this quote from Oswald Chambers really means in the big picture.

Admittedly, it can be hard to do this because instead of surrendering to God, so many people want to go their own way and do their own thing. Yet, in His actions toward us, there God is, being patient, grace filled, and being self-controlled. Since God is love(1 John 4:8), we can logically conclude that allowing people to go their own way, to make their own mistakes, to allow them to live out their God-given free will, and even to sin (though God does not want us to sin) and receive their own just natural law consequences (instituted by this loving God who is our Creator) is loving. Why? Because this is God’s example to us. It seems many people struggle with this idea, though, and seemingly some people want to take the place of God in others’ lives and they do not even realize it.

Think about it and please consider this.

Where in your life are you wanting others, who are adults, to surrender unconditionally to what you desire? Not to God’s desire but to your own. Do you know someone who tries to control others through their “offended” feelings, to manipulate another person to believe and do what they want that person to do? Friends, we need to understand that we are not God and that, more times than not, one’s feelings of offense really are nothing more than selfishness.

That brings to my mind another quote from someone I consider to be a great leader: “Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.” -General George S. Patton, Jr.

At first glance, this quote may seem rash or harsh, but it is really anything but harsh, in my opinion. It’s very honest and quite selfless if one is willing to consider the following.

This might be one of the toughest parts of the takeaway for me regarding this Patton quote: stay in your lane and know your role. If your leader (boss, employer, teacher, etc.) wants you to do something a certain way, do it without complaining. If you think you have a better way to do something and want to whine or complain or make excuses about their leadership, move on to other things and let that leader lead. As a follower (student, employee, etc.), you have a choice to make as well. You are not a slave in that relationship. You have a choice. Remember, if you choose to stay where you're at under someone's leadership, you are making that choice to follow, otherwise you're nothing more than a rebel and a problem. That stinks, I know.

But something else is on the horizon. If you are following Christ and doing your calling for Him, trust God! It’s not about you anyway.

One last thought: If a person chooses to not follow God, as long as their actions are not directly negatively impacting another person, I encourage you to let them go their way. Could another person be hurt indirectly? More than likely yes. But that is the result of living in a sinful world, is it not? Consider the rich young ruler: Jesus told him the truth and challenged him to go a certain way. The young man decided to do what he wanted to do and to go against God. Other than being selfish, why else would you or I or anyone try and force someone to follow God?

I will leave you with this question. If you really are about following Christ and His example, are you willing to follow His example with the rich young ruler, too? Are you willing to allow the natural law consequences that God has put into place to take effect?

More to consider:
1 John 5:1-5
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Mark 10:17-27

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