Unconditional Surrender

On August 10, 1945, just one day after the bombing of Nagasaki, at the beheast of Emperor Hirohito, Japan acquiesces to the US demand of unconditional surrnender as President Harry S. Truman orders an end to atomic bombing.  Although many on the war council wanted to demand concessions, the emperor knew they had no bargaining chips left.

Sadly, many who surrender to Christ don't have the clarity of Emperor Hirohito.  So often we are willing to surrender to the Lord as long as we can get some concessions.  We'll do the whole church thing on Sundays but want to live our Monday through Saturday on our own terms.  We will sit through a Bible class on Sunday but don't want to bother reading it the rest of the week.  We will put our "Amen!" on the need for evangelism, just don't expect us to participate in outreach or missions.

I have heard quite a few, over the years, say, "I'll forgive, but I won't forget," meaning that they will only conditionally forgive to a degree.  Some go further insisting, "I will never forgive...," which is to suggest that they want the Lord's forgiveness with the concession that they don't have to personally forgive others, despite the Lord's clear warning, "if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matt 6:15).

For others, their surrender to the Lord does not include a particular vice such as impurity or dishonesty or greed.  Many want to surrender everything to the Lord except their bank account.  For some, money is not an issue but time is their concession.  They want to maintain full control of their calendars.  The goes on to include over-eating, excessive drinking, self-indulgences, addictions, and more.

Whatever it is in particular, in general it is something you don't want to surrender to the Lord, something you want to maintain control of or continue to participate in regardless of His call on your life.  But Jesus doesn't ask for some of your life or most of your things, he calls us to surrender all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Matt 18:24; Mk 4:34; Lk 9:23).

The Lord calls us to unconditional surrender of our entire lives.  Everything we have and all that we do are to be for his glory and the kingdom good: "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col 3:17).  Selfishness runs counter to kingdom rule.  Full surrender is the only path to kingdom reign and eternal gain.  Jus' Say'n.