I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Jesus, I surrender, I surrender all. Ah yes, it’s a song we have all sung at one time or another from the deepest recesses of our hearts. Perhaps even bringing a tear to our eyes. But, as I ponder this song and the words we sing, it makes me wonder how many of us realize what we’re saying? Do we just sing the song because it sounds nice? Because is sounds biblical? Or do we really mean it, that we WILL surrender all? I had a nice T-shirt once that looked like I was wearing a big cross. The caption read, “It’s easier to wear a cross around your neck than it is to wear one on your back.” So true, and yet this song reminds me of the same thing.

The Christian life is more than nice songs and fancy words we sing. There is a sacrificial action we are required to make. Take a look at the lives of two very rich men, both of who came to Jesus looking for salvation. First, the young rich ruler asked the Lord what good he needed to do to have eternal life. Jesus started the conversation by having him reflect on the last six of the Ten Commandments, to which the young man replied he had kept them all. Jesus then zooms in on the first four of the Commandments by telling him to sell everything and give the money to the poor and follow him. Sadly, he went away sorrowful, for he had great riches. Jesus wasn’t telling all of us to sell everything and give away our money to the poor. He was telling this young man to do so because his money had become his god. A point well demonstrated when he refused to give it up when the Lord told him that was what was required of him. He went away sad and missed out on the very thing he had come to Jesus for: salvation.

The second man was Zacchaeus, a chief publican who had become rich by over-taxing the people and taking a cut from the tax collectors under his charge. In his encounter with Jesus, the Lord didn’t tell him to do anything, yet Zacchaeus said to Jesus in front of all the people in the house that he would give half his money to the poor, and pay back fourfold to those he had defrauded. The Law required a two-fold repayment for money taken by fraud, yet Zacchaeus went above and beyond the Law to restore it four times over.

Two rich men. Two men looking for life. Two very different responses. And a very hard lesson learned. If we really want Christ, if we really want life, it’s going to cost us everything. A true encounter with Jesus will always lead to a complete transformation of our life. We no longer are what we were before. There is a radical change to our lifestyle, and no sacrifice is too big to make to God for the life He gives. Zacchaeus wanted what Jesus had, no matter the cost. The young rich ruler wanted eternal life, but on his terms and as long as it was convenient; and this pretty much sums up modern-day Christianity. Like my blog on Burger King salvation: have it your way.

A life committed to Christ is a life committed to the max. There is no wiggle room or movable boundaries. You’re either fully in, or you’re not. You’re a Christian, or you’re not. You can’t be a little pregnant: you either are or you’re not. That is the Christian life: black and white. There are no grey areas. The hallmark to the Christian life is defined by the word: surrender. It’s a sacrifice of surrendering all. Once you’re in, you cannot go back to the old life, you cannot deviate. This is a dangerous premise, as the following example clearly demonstrates:

If you fly out of Los Angeles with a destination to Buffalo, NY you pretty much fly straight as the crow flies. Just follow your nose. But the key is, you have to fly straight for Buffalo. What if the pilot veers off course just a little? Surely, a wee little bit isn’t a big deal? What if the pilot is off by 1° or maybe 2°? No big deal, right? I mean, try to draw a triangle with a 1° angle. You can’t. 1° or 2° doesn’t seem like a lot. However, if the pilot takes off from LA and veers off course by 2°, the plane won’t land in Buffalo, it will end up in Rochester, NY which is 80 miles to the east.

Being a Christian isn’t always about being off by a bit and not seeing a difference tomorrow. The real damage will be seen months and years ahead if you don’t correct that 1° or 2° offset right away. Stay the course. Stay on the narrow path. Decide you’ll follow Christ and stick to your guns. If you bother coming to Jesus, know that you’ll have to on His terms, not yours. Yeah, you may have to give up quite a bit now, but it will never compare to the greater glory you will receive in eternity. If you want to be someone, be a Zacchaeus.