Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,
which a man found and hid; and for joy over it
he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven
is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
who, when he had found one pearl of great price
went and sold all that he had and bought it.
- Matthew 13:44-46
I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
- Isaiah 45:3
The year 2016 is only seven days old.
My heart still feels so warm and soft from our family's recent year-end celebration of Christmas, saying good-bye to 2015, and welcoming the New Year.
It feels like this year is going to be a very good year, and I am looking forward to what's in store.
But this post is not about my expectations for this year that has just begun. It is a prayer of blessing for my fourth grandchild Peaceful One who turned eleven months old today.
But this post is not about my expectations for this year that has just begun. It is a prayer of blessing for my fourth grandchild Peaceful One who turned eleven months old today.
Very much on my heart these days are thoughts about absolute surrender.
Years ago, I read a book entitled Absolute Surrender by the author Andrew Murray. I don't remember much about what I read, except his main point which was that God doesn't expect us to reach the point of absolute surrender on our own. He gives us the grace to want to completely submit to His perfect will. He gives us a revelation of His love, which becomes our sole motivation for loving Him back in return.
Absolute surrender is never forced... God inspires us to do it.
Years ago, I read a book entitled Absolute Surrender by the author Andrew Murray. I don't remember much about what I read, except his main point which was that God doesn't expect us to reach the point of absolute surrender on our own. He gives us the grace to want to completely submit to His perfect will. He gives us a revelation of His love, which becomes our sole motivation for loving Him back in return.
Absolute surrender is never forced... God inspires us to do it.
Another author Oswald Chambers comes to mind whenever I think about surrender. He calls it reckless abandonment to the will of the Father.
Some of the best chapters ever written on the topic of relinquishment are those by Catherine Marshall.
Jesus calls it losing one's life.
What strikes me about the words surrender, abandon, and relinquish is the action required in order to do it - the action of letting go, or giving up.
Losing one's life.
Jesus tells two parables, twin parables really, to bring home the point of absolute surrender: the parable of the buried treasure, and the pearl of great price.
Both parables talk of giving up what one considers of great value to gain something far more precious than what was given up in the first place.
A man discovers a treasure buried in a field; another man finds the pearl of great price that he has been searching for all his life. Both men sell all they own to acquire the land where the buried treasure is, and the pearl of all pearls.
There are two ways of looking at these parables:
Jesus Christ is that buried treasure, He is the pearl of great price. And He is honored when somebody decides that turning one's back on all that this world offers is too small a cost to pay for the prize of having Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
Yet, another interpretation grips my heart. One devotional writer once said that the treasure is you and me. We are the pearl of great price for whom Jesus was willing to lay down His life that He might win us to Himself.
Awesome, isn't it?
So here is my prayer blessing for my dear grandchild.
My dear Peaceful One,
On this your eleventh month of life, I release the blessings of absolute surrender to you.
You mind may be too young to understand it, but my prayer is that your heart will not be too young to grasp its spiritual significance.
May you understand the implications of turning your whole life over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ... and live a life of relinquishment and reckless abandon.
May you be willing to give up any "right" to your own life, in exchange for having another person, the Lord Jesus Christ. sit as Sovereign King over your affairs.
I pray that you will not be afraid to lose your life for the sake of Christ and His kingdom, that you may gain the life that really counts for eternity.
May your heart be aligned to the purposes of God for you - just like Jesus was when He prayed that prayer in Gethsemane, telling God that not His own will, but the Father's will, be done in His life.
Dear grandchild, may you let go of any demand that you may have for a good life, or that things be done according to your expectations, but instead be willing to trust God for His perfect plans in your life.
May you surrender your self-will to God's divine and perfect will. This will need the humility of Jesus to be developed in your heart.
May you know how to delight in the Lord, that you may gradually understand what it means to receive the desires of your heart.
Oh dear grandchild, there truly are treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that God our Father has prepared for those who know Him intimately as the God of Israel, the One who calls us by name.
Love always,
Nana
Recent photos of Peaceful One taken during our weekly family lunch
Some of the best chapters ever written on the topic of relinquishment are those by Catherine Marshall.
Jesus calls it losing one's life.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
- Luke 9:24
Losing one's life.
Jesus tells two parables, twin parables really, to bring home the point of absolute surrender: the parable of the buried treasure, and the pearl of great price.
Both parables talk of giving up what one considers of great value to gain something far more precious than what was given up in the first place.
A man discovers a treasure buried in a field; another man finds the pearl of great price that he has been searching for all his life. Both men sell all they own to acquire the land where the buried treasure is, and the pearl of all pearls.
There are two ways of looking at these parables:
Jesus Christ is that buried treasure, He is the pearl of great price. And He is honored when somebody decides that turning one's back on all that this world offers is too small a cost to pay for the prize of having Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
Yet, another interpretation grips my heart. One devotional writer once said that the treasure is you and me. We are the pearl of great price for whom Jesus was willing to lay down His life that He might win us to Himself.
Awesome, isn't it?
So here is my prayer blessing for my dear grandchild.
My dear Peaceful One,
On this your eleventh month of life, I release the blessings of absolute surrender to you.
You mind may be too young to understand it, but my prayer is that your heart will not be too young to grasp its spiritual significance.
May you understand the implications of turning your whole life over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ... and live a life of relinquishment and reckless abandon.
May you be willing to give up any "right" to your own life, in exchange for having another person, the Lord Jesus Christ. sit as Sovereign King over your affairs.
I pray that you will not be afraid to lose your life for the sake of Christ and His kingdom, that you may gain the life that really counts for eternity.
May your heart be aligned to the purposes of God for you - just like Jesus was when He prayed that prayer in Gethsemane, telling God that not His own will, but the Father's will, be done in His life.
Dear grandchild, may you let go of any demand that you may have for a good life, or that things be done according to your expectations, but instead be willing to trust God for His perfect plans in your life.
May you surrender your self-will to God's divine and perfect will. This will need the humility of Jesus to be developed in your heart.
May you know how to delight in the Lord, that you may gradually understand what it means to receive the desires of your heart.
Oh dear grandchild, there truly are treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that God our Father has prepared for those who know Him intimately as the God of Israel, the One who calls us by name.
Love always,
Nana
Recent photos of Peaceful One taken during our weekly family lunch
Related Posts:
Eight months old - Judge Softly (Self-Control)
Nine months old - Prudence: The Missing Factor
Ten months old - Dependence: A Heart Like Mary
Eleven months old - Absolute Surrender
Twelve months old - Worship: Only One Thing is Necessary
Nine months old - Prudence: The Missing Factor
Ten months old - Dependence: A Heart Like Mary
Eleven months old - Absolute Surrender
Twelve months old - Worship: Only One Thing is Necessary
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