It is said that during the Crusades many of the knights who were baptized would not allow their swords, held by their dominant hand, to be submerged into the baptismal waters. This act symbolized that God ultimately controlled their fate, but it was they who controlled their sword in battle. This medieval legend popped into my head this afternoon when a remade version of “I Surrender All” came on Pandora Radio. In the past, I have thought about this tale and said to myself, “what fools to do such a thing,” but today the thought hit me: at least they were honest about it. I was challenged while I listened to those classic words, “All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give,” and I asked myself does my “all” really mean “all” or is it a medieval version of the word meaning “everything, but…” This can be a painful place to go for most of us because the truth is we all hold something above the waters. Be it our relationships, our finances, our unforgiveness, or our own self-righteousness, we cling onto something that we insist on being in control of. Until we are honest with ourselves we will never let go and discover the full joy of surrendering everything. Plus if history has taught us anything, it’s the things that we insist on controlling that cause the greatest harm.
Just a thought,
Jason
Ps. I’ve attached a link to that song; I would challenge you to take a few moments to listen to it and ask God what are you clinging to and then invite someone into that confession.