Surrender part 1
The Kingdom of God has an upside down, backwards economy. Especially from a "natural" point of view. The way things work don't make sense. For example, "And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all" (Mark 9:35). Or, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25). The first is last, and the last is first. You have to lose your life in order to find it. These things go against what we would consider "sensible." And I think there's a very good reason for that. I don't think the Kingdom is SUPPOSED to make sense to the carnal, unregenerated mind. Because, "...the peace of God, which passeth understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). If we could figure out, and do it ourselves, why would we need Jesus? But if it passes understanding, then we simply CAN'T do it ourselves. And that's the point. That was the point of the Law of Moses. You can't do it yourself. You need Jesus. But I think this is one of the hardest aspects of the "Christian life." Because, in my experience, for the most part, people are problem solvers. We see something "wrong" and we want to make it "right." But Jesus didn't come to "fix" things. He came to restore things. He didn't come to make "evil" people "good." He came to wake us from sleep and make dead people alive. And here's the key: HE came to do it. For us and as us. He knew we couldn't do it. So He was lifted up from the earth and He drew us all into Himself. He did it all so we could get it all. And now ALL we have to do is believe. Jesus said it plainly: "...This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (John 6:29). That's our part. Jesus made the Way of Grace. We respond with the Walk of Faith. We don't walk it OUT in our own power (because we don't HAVE any power of our own). We walk IN what He has already done. Manifesting His finished work, not by trying to finish it, but by believing it. That's the good fight of faith--laying hold of the gift of eternal life that we've been given. Not robbing ourselves of it by trying to earn it. Because--again, in my experience--the harder we try to "fix" things the worse we end up making things. The harder we tighten our grip, the more things slip through our fingers. And that's the point. Because we are not supposed to control things. God is in control. His love controls us! We are supposed to surrender. Give up control. Stop trying to live Jesus' life. Because nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus. So what ARE we supposed to do? "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1). We're supposed to surrender. Stop trying and start resting. Instead of trying to live Jesus' life... we can let Him live His own life in us, and through us, and as us. We can stop trying to be someone we're not, and just be who we are. Present our bodies to Him. Let Him do whatever He wants to do with us. Let our hands be His hands. Our feet be His feet. Our mouths be His mouth. We can simply... surrender.