The man who surrenders to Christ exchanges a cruel slave driver for a kind and gentle Master whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light.
~A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)
And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, but this One was made a Priest with an oath by the One who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a Priest forever.’” This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but He holds His priesthood permanently, because He continues forever. Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a High Priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.
~ Our High Priest, Jesus, in Hebrews 7
Oh beloved, we know it. We are to surrender our lives fully to Him. He gets everything. Everything we are, everything we were, everything we will be. And those of us who have made this decision simply know that the relationship really doesn’t work any other way. We have come to understand that this relationship is the reality foreshadowed by the beautiful sacrament of marriage in this world.
Him in us… And us in Him.
Really.
Forever.
And then it gets even better. We begin to understand what this entire thing means.
We begin to understand that the One Who spoke light into being; Who breathed the stars and wove the fabric of existence and eternity and infinity itself whole, has done for us – the unthinkable. This One who was, and Is, and Is to come has done the exact same thing for us that we are to do for Him. He has given everything He is for us, and to us, that we might Live and be united with Him.
For to Him we are truly betrothed.
This One in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwells gave Himself in slaughter that we might not be slaughtered by the onslaught of the Day of Judgement we will all face. This One already knew what that day would mean for all of us. We would have all (read every single one of us) been damned to a separation from Him that would not ever end.
And this One already knew that He could Live without us, for He already inhabits the eternity that holds that potential. However, the Power of righteousness and Love that both raised Him from the dead, and holds Himself together in Trinity saw a much better way.
The Love in this One who is Love simply did what Love does. He gave Himself in profound concern for our well-being without regard for whether we would love Him back. And while those He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to His likeness, He would have done the dying even if none of us had loved Him back. Love just does things like this.
Love gives everything.
Love expects nothing in return, yet burns like a flame which will not be quenched by many waters.
Love rejoices when the truth wins out.
Love hopes all things.
Love bears all things.
Love never fails.
Love wins.
Can we see it? He really is Love. He really Loves you. Oh beloved! Who are we to resist and refuse such an offer? Why are we so stubborn and futile in our attempts at life, when – in Him – we would realize everything we are looking for in the offering He has already made?
He has offered everything He is and simply asks the surrender of all the nothing we are that He might sweep us into an eternal relationship that will only grow in strength and passion and friendship and brotherhood and Love and goodness and reality and power and clarity and peace and everything else… forever.
Tonight is the night friend. Let Him have you.
