His Heart, My Home

John 3:16, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He (even) gave up his only begotten (unique) Son so that whoever believes in, (trusts in, clings to, and relies on) Him shall not perish, (come to destruction, be lost), but have eternal (everlasting) life.”

God sent Jesus as the ultimate expression of His love for humanity. Through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, the Father has forever expressed and demonstrated His absolute commitment and His unconditional love for us.

God’s heart is calling out to us. He loves us passionately. Jesus, God in the flesh, gave His life to absolutely prove God’s eternal love for us. He paid the ultimate price for our salvation, then took his place seated at the Father’s right hand.

God, the Father, then presented His eternal, omega-point question to humanity. His query was not articulated with words, but with the living proof of His love, personified in Jesus, crushed, raised, now forever alive, and seated beside Him.

His love has been, and is, undeniably proven and eternally displayed, and is now an open-ended question from God’s heart to ours.

Imagine that a love-possessed young man drops to one knee, and offers a ring to his beloved. Before he can speak a word, his posture and his actions have already spoken. He has already asked the question.

Jesus’ actions proclaim our salvation from sin and death. He bore our sickness snd pain. He bore our sin and shame. His position, seated on the throne at the Father’s right hand asks the question of His intended: “Will you accept the love-gift of my sacrifice? Will you return my love? Will you be my bride?” He eagerly waits for our response to His invitation.

There are those who say that God needs our love. This implies that God is somehow incomplete without us, lacking or deficient in some way. Nothing could be further from the truth. God’s motive in loving us is far higher than satisfying some self-centered need on His part.

God is love! Love is His eternal nature. At some point in eternity, the Love-Triune of Father, Son and Spirit, decided to widen their circle of love, creating beings upon whom they could lavish their overflowing love.

We manifest God’s glory when we receive His love and respond to it by allowing it to flow through us, back to Him. He has chosen to love us as an act of His will, and we return His love as an act of ours.

Romans 12:1, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of (all) the mercies of God…”

Romans 12:1, Passion Translation
“Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights His heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.”

The dictionary definition of the word “surrender” means “to yield to the power or possession of another.” The world sees surrender as the worst possible outcome of a struggle, battle, or war. It is seen as a loss, a defeat, a fate to be avoided at all costs.

But our surrender as Christians is different. The surrender of our hearts to the Lord is not forced, demanded, or compelled under duress. It is “in view of all the mercies of God.”

Remember: we are yielding to the power and possession of the One who “bought us with a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:20) That price was His own blood, His life, freely given to save ours.

Do you remember the old hymn “I Surrender All“? The lyrics say:
All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

Our surrender is our response to the question posed by God’s love. It is our freely given “yes” to God’s proposal.

At this point we could discuss all the different areas of our lives that we need to surrender to the Lord: our marriage, children, home buying, career choices, finances, etc. The list could go on, and on, and on. The task of assessing our progress, or lack thereof, in every area of our lives, and struggling to surrender in each of those areas would be overwhelming, simply exhausting. It would be easier to wrestle an octopus! Isn’t surrender supposed to be “letting go, and letting God”?

Please let me share my definition of surrender with you. It’s found in Galatians 2:20, KJV –
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Notice the four words which embody the very essence of surrendering our hearts and lives to the Lord…”NOT I, BUT CHRIST!”

“NOT I”… I died with Christ! I am dead to sin!
I am dead to self! My old life has been forever
EXTINGUISHED!

“BUT CHRIST”… My new life is Christ-centered! The Lord lives out His life in me day by day! My new life is daily RELINQUISHED!

When a groom and his bride stand before the Lord, to be joined as one, in the covenant of marriage, they speak the words, “I will” to seal their vows and begin their life-journey together. But, marriage involves more than living on the memory of a vow once spoken. Each day, they must renew those vows, not just by their words, but by their actions: yielding, submitting, forbearing, forgiving, respecting, honoring, favoring, cherishing, and loving each other. By doing so, they will continually refresh and revitalize their marriage covenant.

For the Christian, the words, “Not I, but Christ!” require that we live our lives, moment by moment, yielding our hearts, to His life, and His Spirit within us. We abide in Him, honoring Him, cherishing Him, submitting to Him, and obeying Him. That level of surrender can only be achieved by a continual trust in and reliance upon Holy Spirit.

“As you yield to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life. For your self-life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit and hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self-life from dominating you!” (Galatians 5:16,17, TPT)

We have been challenged to daily answer the question that God’s love has posed. In view of all the mercies of God, what will our response be? Change always begin with a decision. What will your decision be?

As Kenneth Copeland sings, “To be victorious, you must surrender!”