The Surrender: Our Obedience Belongs to Jesus

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. (John 7:37)

A rich young ruler approached Jesus and asked “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” Jesus told the man that if he wishes to enter into life, he should keep the commandments. The young man said that he had kept all these things and wondered what he was still lacking. Jesus told him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” When the young man heard this, he went away in distress because he owned much property (Matthew 19:16–22).

This young man lost out on the opportunity of a lifetime because he was unwilling to surrender all he had in order to gain all Jesus had to offer. Eternal life is not just another commodity that is added on to everything else in our possession. Jesus said “the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14). When the free gift is offered, that is the time to respond (Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Isaiah 55:6).

Jesus is not going to force eternal life on anyone. He offers it freely to all who will repent and believe in the gospel. The riches of this life cannot save us. No matter how much we cherish and protect them, we cannot serve both God and wealth (Matthew 6:19–21, 24). Jesus wants us to wholly surrender ourselves to Him (Matthew 10:39; 11:28–30; Acts 17:30; James 4:7).

We must acknowledge that Jesus, the Christ is Lord over all (Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:36; Romans 10:12), and as such, He is the final word on everything we do in this life, and in the life to come. Therefore our first act of obedience to God is to surrender to Him. Every thought, goal, ambition, desire, action should be filtered through the will of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 5:29, 32; Romans 6:16; Hebrews 5:9).