June 23

Day 101: Surrender

Jerusalem was in a bad place. Surrounded by the Babylonian army, their prospects looked bleak.

God had ordained all of this. The people of Jerusalem (and Judah) had ignored God's warnings for decades, even centuries. They had encouraged false prophets and carnal priests to be contrary to God; to tell them just the opposite; just what they wanted to hear.

God speaks through Jeremiah, telling the people it won't end well for them. Their prayers, even sacrifices wouldn't help them now. Going forward, God was "against them."

However, God does provide an out clause. He tells them, in a curious (and decidedly un-American) bit, their lives can be spared...if they surrender, and do it quickly.

God tells Jeremiah in 21:8-9, "And to this people you will say: Thus says the LORD: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans (guys from Babylon) who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war."

It almost seems like God is telling His people, "better a living coward than a dead warrior."

But that's not it. God is telling them that only by hearing God's Word, only be submitting themselves to God and His ways, only in following Him wherever He directs, would they find any hope for life.

Follow this analogy with me.

John 5:24 says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."

By leaving where we are, and want to remain. By renouncing any sense of entitlement based on our religious track record, our good deeds, (even our American citizenship) do we stand any chance of spiritual survival.

He calls us to a new life in Him. Even if that new life in Him takes us to places we do not want to go. Most of us will admit, for example and by metaphor - we didn't necessarily plan on living in Alaska. But here we are.

More so, He calls us to a new life, one that requires we explore and allow the Spirit of Jesus to purge the still rebellious places in our own hearts. The final frontier, maybe.

Those with any chance of living through it, the pre-exilic Jews were being relocated to a foreign, hostile country. They had rebelled against God. So they were being deported. Exiled away from the land God had given their ancestors.

Those of us who've surrendered to Jesus know what it is to feel like cultural exiles, almost like deportees. We increasingly feel like we don't really fit in with our present society and cultural priorities. Even with cultural Christians, content to do church but not be the church, we feel less and less aligned.

Philippians 3:20-21 tell us why.

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."

To gain citizenship in that Kingdom, it first requires we surrender to the King.

-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church | Juneau