Day Three: Surrender (Mark 1:14-20)
Devotional: The story is told of a time Alexander the Great and a small company of soldiers approached a strongly fortified walled city. Alexander demanded to see the king. When the king arrived, Alexander ordered him to surrender. The king laughed, “Why should I surrender to you? Our city is fortified.”
But Alexander the Great offered to give the king a demonstration. He ordered his men to line up single file and start marching. He marched them straight toward a cliff. The townspeople watched in shocked silence as, one by one, his soldiers marched without hesitation right off the cliff to their deaths. After 10 soldiers died, Alexander ordered the rest of the soldiers to return to his side.
The king immediately surrendered to Alexander the Great. He realized that if a few men were actually willing to die at the command of this leader, then nothing could stop his eventual victory. Alexander had the total and complete surrender of his troops to his will. Can the same be said by us as followers of Christ?
The call of Christ can only be accepted with no compromise or conditions. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, and then James and John, it was actually the second invitation from Jesus. The first came in John 1. At that time they did not choose to follow Jesus completely. The second time, in Mark 1, they did so, even at the expense of their greatest financial success.
Matthews account of this story records that they caught so much fish with Jesus that their nets broke. But it was at that moment they realized, what could compare to a life fully surrendered to Jesus? What amount of earthly riches could compare to a joy-filled, eternally impacting life following after Jesus? It seems so counterintuitive, or should we say counter-cultural. The culture says life is what you accumulate. But Jesus says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)
In surrender, our lives are saved. In losing our lives, a life in Jesus is found. Are we following Jesus without compromise or conditions? The promise, in Mark 1:17, is that He “will make you become fishers of men”. Surrender all and He will make something of our lives. He will use us to impact the lives of those around us.
Prayer: Take time to ask God to search your heart and help you see if there are still areas in your life that you have not surrendered over to Jesus. It could be a relationship, or a career, or an area of sin. Confess it and surrender it to Jesus today.
Devotional: The story is told of a time Alexander the Great and a small company of soldiers approached a strongly fortified walled city. Alexander demanded to see the king. When the king arrived, Alexander ordered him to surrender. The king laughed, “Why should I surrender to you? Our city is fortified.”
But Alexander the Great offered to give the king a demonstration. He ordered his men to line up single file and start marching. He marched them straight toward a cliff. The townspeople watched in shocked silence as, one by one, his soldiers marched without hesitation right off the cliff to their deaths. After 10 soldiers died, Alexander ordered the rest of the soldiers to return to his side.
The king immediately surrendered to Alexander the Great. He realized that if a few men were actually willing to die at the command of this leader, then nothing could stop his eventual victory. Alexander had the total and complete surrender of his troops to his will. Can the same be said by us as followers of Christ?
The call of Christ can only be accepted with no compromise or conditions. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, and then James and John, it was actually the second invitation from Jesus. The first came in John 1. At that time they did not choose to follow Jesus completely. The second time, in Mark 1, they did so, even at the expense of their greatest financial success.
Matthews account of this story records that they caught so much fish with Jesus that their nets broke. But it was at that moment they realized, what could compare to a life fully surrendered to Jesus? What amount of earthly riches could compare to a joy-filled, eternally impacting life following after Jesus? It seems so counterintuitive, or should we say counter-cultural. The culture says life is what you accumulate. But Jesus says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)
In surrender, our lives are saved. In losing our lives, a life in Jesus is found. Are we following Jesus without compromise or conditions? The promise, in Mark 1:17, is that He “will make you become fishers of men”. Surrender all and He will make something of our lives. He will use us to impact the lives of those around us.
Prayer: Take time to ask God to search your heart and help you see if there are still areas in your life that you have not surrendered over to Jesus. It could be a relationship, or a career, or an area of sin. Confess it and surrender it to Jesus today.
Posted in Come Follow Me