Catching Idle Butterflies

How to . . .

In my last entry partyof5dj asked me a very good question.

I wrote back a lengthy email, and in the end, I don’t think I answered his question.

All morning I continued to think about it.

How does one surrender to God? Are there certain steps a person has to go through in order to reach that point?

Two things came to mind.

First is a book I read called “Searching for God Knows What” by Donald Miller. In the beginning, he stated how we, especially Americans, want to break everything down to formulas: “If I simply follow these four steps, then I will be rich, I will have the spouse I’ve always been searching for, I will forever be happy, etc.”

In one chapter, Miller had asked a group of students to explain the process of falling in love.

They discussed it for a long time before someone finally said, “It’s not exactly a scientific process.”

Bingo.

When we fall in love with someone, we in many ways give our will to them. In everything we do, we think of them first. That’s something that comes natural, and can’t be broken down into a formula. No one can answer why or how they love someone. They just do.

Christians also tend to want to “formulize” the Bible. If we follow these simple steps, then we will then be the "perfect" Christian.

The Bible is not about formulas; it’s not simply a how-to book.

In last week’s Disciple, we studied Romans. One thing Paul stressed was the law, or more accurately, why the law isn’t as important as our relationship with God. That is the key: Relationship.

I went to a website: http://www.bible.com and searched Scripture for “relationship.”

11 verses popped up, and they all have the same theme. Here are two of them:

“You must worship no other gods, but only the LORD, for he is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you.” –Exodus 34:14

“It is clear, then, that God's promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was not based on obedience to God's law, but on the new relationship with God that comes by faith.” –Romans 4:13.

Just as we give much of ourselves to those we love the most, so too giving ourselves over to God should come natural.

Why it doesn’t always happen that way is a question each person has to answer for themselves.

For me, it’s out of pride. I get so full of myself, I think I can handle any given situation without anyone’s help, let alone God’s. Plus, I sometimes see God far above me instead of standing right beside me. I forget He understands everything I’m going through and aches to help.

So in building my relationship with God, the surrendering will soon follow.

I hope that clarifies things a bit. If anyone else has any insights, I'd love to know them. I don't claim to have the right answer, only a possible one.