Grace in Humility

One of the most commonly used invitation hymns is “I Surrender All” by Judson Van DeVenter.  Those are easy words to sing but hard words to live.  What does it mean when we sing the chorus, “I surrender all, I surrender all.  All to Thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all”?  What part of our lives or our own particular character do we plan to hold back as those words stream from our lips?  Abraham seemed truly able to sing the song and we can take some lessons in living grace from him.

God had called Abraham from his home and family.  He had told him to move to a land where he would sojourn for the rest of his life but not own any of it.  He was a great and powerful man.  His servants were able to defeat a confederation of four Mesopotamian kings.  His riches and livestock surpassed that of those around him.  He was the kind of man who could demand things and expect to be heard.  In many churches today he could be the controlling faction all by himself.  But, he had surrendered all to God and we never see him exercising the great power and influence that he possessed. 

One scene stands out today as we look at Genesis 23.  His beloved wife of many decades, Sarah, had died.  He needed a place to bury her.  She died in the land that God had promised to give to Abraham’s descendants forever.  Abraham could have taken his powerful forces and demanded a place of honor for the burial site.  He could have said, “It is already mine, after all!”  I have seen it done in many churches and heard of it being done in many more.  But that is not what Abraham did. 

He had truly surrendered his life and will to that of God.  The land was his, but he did not grasp it.  He did not demand his right to the land.  Here a quick look at Philippians 2:5-8 would be beneficial.  He could have taken it by force, but he didn’t do so.  Here a quick look at Matthew 26:53 would be beneficial.  What he did was offered to buy it at a fair price and would not take it for free.  Here a look at the temptation of Christ would be beneficial. 

Abraham knew that his life was in God’s hands.  He knew that he was called to follow God in the difficult and easy parts of life.  He surrendered to the will of God in both areas.  In this he demonstrated the great grace of God for others to see God and have a chance to glorify Him.  That is what it is supposed to mean when we sing, “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give.” When we really do that we can demonstrate the glorious grace of God to the world. The grace of the life of Christ, the life surrendered to Him, was the life of Abraham’s example. 

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