Surrender
O
One of my sons became
fascinated from a very early age
with aeroplanes. Whenever a
plane flew overhead, he would
run outside and gaze in wonder
at that bird-like machine in the
sky. “When you grow up, son?”
I would ask him, “What would
you like to become?” He always
replied. “I’m going to be a pilot!”
He was always very definite about
his dream. My dreams were more
artistic, perhaps to become a
great writer and a great musician
one day. That changed suddenly,
one Sunday morning at Church
sometime between twelve and
one o’clock.
I sat to the right of the aisle, near
the back of the congregation,
tightly
squeezed
between
two Church brothers. After my
conversion, I had been baptized
at the age of fourteen at
Assembly Hall on Orange Street
in Kingston, Jamaica. This was
another Brethren Church, where
every Sunday the congregation
gathered to remember the Lord’s
death by breaking bread and
drinking wine. Packed like sardines
on long wooden benches, men
were all dressed in jackets and
ties and women with hat-covered
heads fanned away the heat.
When I walked into Church that
Sunday morning, full commitment
to Christ was definitely not on my
mind. Such dedication demanded
giving up personal ambitions
which were almost carved in stone,
never to be removed. Nobody
gives up cherished dreams except
for some far better goal, or
some challenge that supersedes
strongly held ambitions.
I had proven myself successful, so
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I thought, with published poetry
at the age of ten, and had taught
myself part of a Beethoven’s
sonata during one summer
holiday. Nobody could stop me!
I was sure I could accomplish
anything.
During the worship, various
brothers prayed and read
Scriptures
relating
to
the
crucifixion. In the quiet, strong
emotion that could easily be felt,
in my spirit I saw Jesus falling
beneath the weight of the cross,
then a soldier compelling Simon
of Cyrene to carry the cross. I
seemed to hear the voice of
Jesus say, “I gave every ounce
of strength for you! What will you
give for me?”
I used to think, “If God called me
to Africa or to the Amazon, I could
not go.” How could I give up all
my ambitions? I was like a child
holding out a box of chocolates
to his playmate and saying, “You
can have anything on the top row,
but the bottom row is mine!” “I’ll
attend Church regularly, read my
Bible as often as I can, even pray
some more. I’ll do the best I can
at school, so others can see I’m
following You, but I’ll still cling to
my dreams!”
Still, those words ‘every ounce of
strength’ kept ringing in my ears!
‘For me, for me, every ounce
of strength for me!’ It was only
reasonable to fully surrender to
Him! Tears streamed down my
fourteen-year-old face!
Suddenly, I yielded. “I’ll go
where you want me to go!” I had
received Jesus Christ the night
before my thirteenth birthday as
my personal Savior from sin. Now,
July - September 2016