A Series of Surrenders
Earl and Hazel Lee wrote in their
book Committed to Grace, regarding the experience of meeting and sharing
in the spiritual journey of the now Rev. Janine Tartaglia-Metcalf (Janine was
formerly a news correspondent with NBC). “Janine faced some mountain-sized decisions,”
they wrote. “It was a series of
surrenders.” Then they quoted these
words from William James. “The whole
development of Christianity or its inwardness consists in little more than
greater and greater emphasis on the crisis of surrender.”
I highlighted these words in my
copy of their book, because I was teaching a course on the Doctrine of Holiness
and it fit some of the material I wanted to cover. But, I also highlighted these words, because
I think they are true! The continuing
work of Jesus Christ in our lives is “a series of surrenders.” Call this work of Christ any name you want,
but the bottom line for growth in Him is surrender and submission. These are not popular words for us today, but
they are relevant.
It seems to me that the special
time of remembrance, which we call “Thanksgiving” in the United States,
includes and highlights this attitude of surrender. Would it be appropriate to suggest that for
us to properly give thanks to God requires an aspect of self-surrender? To give thanks humbly, we surrender our
desire to be self-sufficient. To give thanks honorably we surrender pride in
order to recognize the Giver of all good and perfect gifts. To give thanks honestly we yield the right of
way to the One who deserves all praise.
In a Thanksgiving sermon, Pastor
Joel Gregory told about the Masai tribe in West Africa, which has an unusual
way of saying, “I thank you.”
They say literally, “My head is in the dirt.” When the Masai express thanks, they literally
put their forehead on the ground. They
want to acknowledge gratitude with humility.
It is interesting that another tribe in Africa expresses gratitude by
saying, “I sit on the ground before you.” When one of them wants to express gratitude
to another, they sit in front of the hut of the person to whom they wish to
express gratitude and just sit there in humility for an extended length of
time.
Would you call that an act of
surrender? It certainly takes time and
humility of spirit to say thanks in those African traditions. Maybe the writer had this in mind in 2 Kings
17:36, when he wrote, “But the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt with
mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you
shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices.” Or perhaps the attitude of the Psalmist fits
this spirit of surrender when he suggested in Psalm 138:2, “I will bow down
toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your
faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.”
Thanksgiving then, is not simply a
“nice” meal of God-given bounty, but a humbling recognition of and
surrender to God’s grace and Sovereignty.
But, that is what our relationship to God is all about isn’t it? It is “a series of surrenders.”
