Choosing the Best in Life
God's promise to me is, "You will seek
me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
My whole heart must be yielded to God, or the
change I want can never be wrought in me by which I am to be
restored to His likeness. By nature I am alienated from God. The
Holy Spirit describes my condition in such words as these: "Dead
in [my] transgressions and sins," "[my] whole head is
injured, [my] whole heart afflicted." "there
is no soundness." I am held fast in the snare of Satan, "who
has taken [me] captive to do his will." God desires to heal me, to set me free.
but since this requires an entire transformation, a renewing of
my whole nature, I must yield myself wholly to Him.
The warfare against self is the greatest battle that is ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle; but my soul must submit to God before I can be renewed in holiness.
The government of God is not, as Satan would
make it appear, founded upon a blind submission, an unreasoning
control. It appeals to the intellect and the conscience. "Come
now, let us reason together" is my Creator's invitation. God does not force my will. He cannot
accept homage that is not willingly and intelligently given. A
mere forced submission would prevent all real development my mind
or character; it would make me a mere robot. Such is not the
purpose of my Creator. He desires that I, the crowning mark of
His creative power, reach the highest possible development. He
sets before me the height of blessing to which He desires to
bring me through His grace. He invites me to give myself to Him,
that He may work His will in me. It remains for me to choose if I
will be set free from the bondage of sin, to share the glorious
liberty of a child of God.
In giving myself to God, I must necessarily
give up all that would separate me from Him. Hence the Saviour
says, "any of you who does not give up everything he has
cannot be My disciple." Whatever shall draw
away my heart from God must be given up. Is the love of money,
the desire for wealth, the golden chain that binds me to Satan?
Do I desire reputation and worldly honor? Is the life of selfish
ease and freedom from responsibility my idol? These slavish bands
must be broken. I cannot be half the Lord's and half the world's.
I am not God's child unless I am such entirely.
Do I profess to serve God, while I rely upon my own efforts to obey His law, to form a right character, and secure my salvation. Is my heart moved not by a deep sense of the love of Christ, but rather a performance of the duties of the Christian life as that which God requires of me in order to gain heaven. Such religion is worth nothing. When Jesus dwells in my heart, my soul will be so filled with His love, with the joy of communion with Him, that it will cling to Him; and in the contemplation of Him, self will be forgotten. Love to Jesus will be the spring of action. As I feel the constraining love of God, I do not ask how little may be given to meet the requirements of God; I do not ask for the lowest standard, but aim at perfect conformity to the will of my Redeemer. With earnest desire I yield all and manifest an interest proportionate to the value of the object which I seek. A profession of Jesus without this deep love is mere talk, dry formality, and heavy drudgery.
Is it too great a sacrifice to yield all to Jesus? I ask myself the question, "What has Jesus given up for me?" The Son of God gave all -- life and love and suffering -- for my redemption. Can it be that I, the unworthy object of so great love, will withhold my heart from Him? Every moment of my life I have been a partaker of the blessings of His grace, and for this very reason I cannot fully realize the depts of ignorance and misery from which I have been saved. Can I look upon Him whom my sins have pierced, and yet be willing to ignore His love and sacrifice? In view of the infinite humiliation of the Lord of glory, shall I murmur because I can enter into life only through conflict and self-abasement?
The inquiry of my proud heart is, "Why
need I go in penitence and humiliation before I can have the
assurance of my acceptance with God?" Just look at
Jesus. He was sinless, and, more than this, He was the Prince of
heaven; but in my behalf He became sin for me. "He was
numbered with the transgressors; for he bore the sin of many, and
made intercession for the transgressors."
But what do I really give up, when I give all? A sin-polluted heart, for Jesus to purify, to cleanse by His own blood, and to save by His matchless love. And yet I think it hard to give up all! It is shameful to hear it spoken of, shameful to write it.
God does not require me to give up anything that it is for my best interest to retain. In all that He does, He has my well-being in view. Oh, that I might realize that He has something vastly better to offer me than I am even seeking for myself. I am doing the greatest injury and injustice to my own soul when I think and act contrary to the will of God. No real joy can be found in the path forbidden by Him who knows what is best and who plans for my good. The path of transgression is the path of misery and destruction.
It is a mistake to entertain the thought that God is pleased to see me suffer. All heaven is interested in my happiness. My heavenly Father does not close avenues of joy to me. The divine requirements call upon me to shun those indulgences that would bring suffering and disappointment, that would close to me the door of happiness and heaven. The world's Redeemer accepts me as I am, with all my wants, imperfections, and weaknesses; and He will not only cleanse from sin and grant redemption through His blood, but will satisfy my hearts-longing as I consent to wear His yoke, to bear His burden. It is His purpose to impart to me peace and rest as I come to Him for the bread of life. He requires me to perform only those duties that will lead my steps to heights of bliss to which the disobedient can never attain. The true, joyous life of the soul is to have Christ formed within, the hope of glory.
But, "How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?" I desire to give myself to Him, but I am weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of my life of sin. My promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. I cannot control my thoughts, my impulses, my affections. The knowledge of my broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens my confidence in my own sincerity, and causes me to feel that God cannot accept me; but need I despair? What I need to understand is the true force of the will, the actual governing power in my nature; the power of decision, the power of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to me; it is mine to exercise. I cannot change my heart, I cannot, on my own, give to God its affections; but I can choose to serve Him. I can give Him my will (my power to choose); He will then work in me to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus my whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; my affections will be centered upon Him, my thoughts will be in harmony with Him.
Desires for goodness and holiness are right as far as they go; but if I stop here, they will avail nothing. Will I be lost while hoping and desiring to be a Christian? Will I come to the point of actually yielding my power of choice to God? Will I now choose to be a Christian?
Through the right exercise of the power of choice, an entire change may be made in my life. By yielding up my power of choice to Jesus, I ally myself with the power that is above all principalities and powers. I will have strength from above to hold me steadfast, and thus, through constant surrender to God, I will be enabled to live the new life, even, the life of faith.