White Flags (What Surrender Isn't)
Surrender is often the bloodiest of battles. Itās not a meek white flag we wave at God. It is hard-earned, often accompanied with bruises, deep wounds, wrestling, and weeping. It is not a lack of desire but where we engage our fears and desires in hand-to-hand combat with our trust in God. I believed surrender was like quitting smoking by "cutting back," accomplishable in stages, in small practices of self-denial or by substituting some things for others that make it easier over time. But the more I give away, the tighter my hands become.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, āWhoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.ā
The older I get, the more I have learned that I am a strange mix of obedient and defiant. There is a rule-follower in meāsomeone who refuses toā¦