What Does It Mean to Surrender to God?

from Community Christian Church Hosted by Pastor Tony Rea

You can say yes to God without ever truly surrendering to Him. In Jesus’ parable of the two sons, one promises to obey but never goes, while the other initially refuses but ultimately changes his mind and does what his father asked. Jesus makes it clear that the Father is not impressed by good intentions, religious activity, or words that never become action. His desire is deeper than simply having more people working in the vineyard. He wants surrendered sons and daughters whose hearts have been transformed by Him and whose lives produce the fruit of repentance. This is why the kingdom can transform greedy people into generous people, hateful people into forgiving people, faithless people into people of faith, and hopeless people into people who dream again. We can be busy around the things of God while remaining distant from the heart of God, but genuine surrender always produces movement. The question isn't simply whether we have said yes to God, but whether our yes has actually changed how we live. When yes isn’t enough, surrender becomes the evidence that our hearts truly belong to the Father.