Here are the lyrics:
I'm giving You my heart, and all that is within
I lay it all down, for the sake of You my king
I'm giving You my dreams, I'm laying down my rights
I'm giving up my pride, for the promise of new Life
(Chorus)
And I Surrender all to You, all to You
And I surrender all to You, Lord, all to You
I'm singing You this song, I'm waiting at the cross
And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss
For the sake of knowing You, for the glory of Your name
To know the lasting joy, even sharing in Your pain
(Chorus)
So many times I read verses like Romans 8:17 (“Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we also share in His glory”) or Philippians 1:29 (“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him.”) and view suffering for Christ as merely a physical experience. However as I sang “even sharing in Your pain” I couldn’t help but think of people like the apostle Paul or Hudson Taylor who didn’t only suffer physically for Christ but emotionally as well. Their bodies weren’t the only thing in turmoil, but their hearts were torn apart as well because of their love for God’s people.
I was once told by a missionary that “as a human you have goals, but if you go after those goals in sin it is not ok. You were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). You are owned. You have to find God’s goals, God’s heart, God’s passion and go after that.” This same person later said, “Missions isn’t my things guys, it is my savior’s thing. And because of that it had become my thing.” I think this is important to understand. Yes God gives us goals and passions for a reason; but the reason isn’t so that we can live for ourselves, but to give our talents and passions over to God so that He can use them for His own purposes.
This reminds me of Keith Green’s song, Asleep in the Light (previously shared in post “Wake Up!”). One verse goes like this:
Oh Bless me Lord, bless me Lord, you know it's all I ever hear,
No one aches, no one hurts, no one even sheds one tear,
But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds, and He cares for your needs,
And you just lay back and keep soaking it in, oh, can't you see it's such sin?
Jesus cried, He wept, He bled, He did all this to offer us the hope of Salvation, and yet we so often expect to walk through life unmarred. And like Keith Green says “can’t you see it’s such sin?”
The following verses show the extent of Paul’s love for the various people he ministered to. You don’t have to read through each verse word for word, just skim over the bolded parts and you will get the picture.
· Romans 1:9-10 “God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.”
· Romans 15:30 “I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.”
· Ephesians 1:15-17 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.”
· Philippians 1:3-5 “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now”
· Philippians 3:18-21 “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
· Colossians 1:3-4 “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people”
· Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God”
· 1 Thessalonians 1:2 “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.”
· 1 Thessalonians 3:10 “Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.”
· 2 Thessalonians 1:11 “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by His power He may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.”
· 2 Timothy 1:3-4 “I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.”
· Philemon 1:4-5 “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus.”
Paul didn’t go from town to town preaching the gospel and then forget about the people he shared it with. He constantly remembered them in his prayers. He lived with them in his thoughts every day, worrying that they would turn away and not receive the full benefit of knowing his savior Jesus Chris personally. Instead he suffered in his thoughts and prayers on their behalf, and God blessed his ministry because of it.
Hudson Taylor is another individual I think of who suffered for Christ in his thoughts and prayers. God’s heart for the lost was so impressed on Taylor’s that he constantly battled depression and heart ache on their behalf. He writes the following (in The Call To Service) describing his initial surrender to the call of God in his life (once again skim through the selection paying attention to the bolded parts to see Taylor’s heart for those he ministered to):
“Not many months after my conversion, having a leisure afternoon, I retired to my own chamber to spend it largely in communion with God. Well do I remember that occasion. How in the gladness of my heart I poured out my soul before God; and again and again confessing my grateful love to Him who had done everything for me — who had saved me when I had given up all hope and even desire for salvation — I besought Him to give me some work to do for Him, as an outlet for love and gratitude; some self-denying service, no matter what it might be, however trying or however trivial; something with which He would be pleased, and that I might do for Him who had done so much for me. Well do I remember, as in unreserved consecration I put myself, my life, my friends, my all, upon the altar, the deep solemnity that came over my soul with the assurance that my offering was accepted. The presence of God became unutterably real and blessed; and though but a child under sixteen, I remember stretching myself on the ground, and lying there silent before Him with unspeakable awe and unspeakable joy. For what service I was accepted I knew not; but a deep consciousness that I was no longer my own took possession of me, which has never since been effaced… Within a few months of this time of consecration the impression was wrought into my soul that it was in China the Lord wanted me. It seemed to me highly probable that the work to which I was thus called might cost my life; for China was not then open as it is now.”
Later as illness required him to return to England from China he writes:
“While in the field, the pressure of claims immediately around me was so great that I could not think much of the still greater needs of the regions farther inland; and, if they were thought of, could do nothing for them. But while detained for some years in England, daily viewing the whole country on the large map on the wall of my study, I was as near to the vast regions of Inland China as to the smaller districts in which I had laboured personally for GOD; and prayer was often the only resource by which the burdened heart could gain any relief.”
He then goes on to describe the inner battle of his great desire to see China reached and the possible cost it may have on those who devote themselves to reaching China.
“How inconsistent unbelief always is! I had no doubt that, if I prayed for workers, "in the Name" of the Lord Jesus Christ, they would be given me. I had no doubt that, in answer to such prayer, the means for our going forth would be provided, and that doors would be opened before us in unreached parts of the Empire. But I had not then learned to trust GOD for keeping power and grace for myself, so no wonder that I could not trust Him to keep others who might be prepared to go with me. I feared that in the midst of the dangers, difficulties, and trials which would necessarily be connected with such a work, some who were comparatively inexperienced Christians might break down, and bitterly reproach me for having encouraged them to undertake an enterprise for which they were unequal. Yet, what was I to do? The feeling of blood-guiltiness became more and more intense. Simply because I refused to ask for them, the labourers did not come forward--did not go out to China--and every day tens of thousands were passing away to Christless graves! Perishing China so filled my heart and mind that there was no rest by day, and little sleep by night, till health broke down. At the invitation of my beloved and honoured friend, Mr. George Pearse (then of the Stock Exchange), I went to spend a few days with him in Brighton.”
Finally he describes his final surrender to God and the freedom he found in his obedience.
“On Sunday, June 25th, 1865, unable to bear the sight of a congregation of a thousand or more Christian people rejoicing in their own security, while millions were perishing for lack of knowledge, I wandered out on the sands alone, in great spiritual agony; and there the LORD conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to GOD for this service. I told Him that all the responsibility as to issues and consequences must rest with Him; that as His servant, it was mine to obey and to follow Him--His, to direct, to care for, and to guide me and those who might labour with me. Need I say that peace at once flowed into my burdened heart? There and then I asked Him for twenty-four fellow-workers, two for each of eleven inland provinces which were without a missionary, and two for Mongolia; and writing the petition on the margin of the Bible I had with me, I returned home with a heart enjoying rest such as it had been a stranger to for months, and with an assurance that the LORD would bless His own work and that I should share in the blessing. I had previously prayed, and asked prayer, that workers might be raised up for the eleven then unoccupied provinces, and thrust forth and provided for, but had not surrendered myself to be their leader.”
For both Paul and Hudson the burden of missions was painful. They both shared in Christ’s sufferings by sharing in His heart. They were able to align their hearts up so closely to Christ’s that they were deeply troubled and burdened by the unreached souls of the lost. Their suffering wasn’t just physical rejection and beatings but spiritual battles and heart ache. This is what sharing in Christ’s pain means. It’s about having His heart for His creation and living with the pain that what He created as “good” has become corrupt; it’s about having His heart for His people and living with the pain that the people He died for over 2,000 years ago are still wandering aimlessly without the knowledge of salvation.
This should pain anyone who calls themselves a follower of Christ. This should pain us enough to make us to do something about it. This is why Jesus died. This is why He was raised again. This is what it means to live for Him. Sharing in His pain, means sharing in His mission. Like the missionary said “Missions isn’t my things guys, it is my savior’s thing. And because of that it had become my thing.”
Are we, as Christ followers, willing to make our savior’s thing our thing? If not, maybe we don’t really understand what it means to be a disciple.
Lord,
I surrender, all to You, all to You. I surrender, all to You, Lord, all to You.
Help me to share in Your pain so that I can know Your lasting joy. Teach me the things that break Your heart so that they can break mine too. Teach me to take on the burdens of Your heart and share in the things that pain You. Help me to surrender all to You, Lord, all to You.
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment