A Pastor’s Perspective

“Unconditional Surrender” by Mike Hill, pastor of Calvary Chapel Aberdeen (mjhill@ida.net)

Listen to CALVARY RADIO 90.3 FM

I was in Lynchburg, Virginia the past two weeks fulfilling counseling course requirements for my degree.  The work was intense, but I enjoyed it since counseling is one of my passions.  Though the two weeks of class kept me busy, I was still able to venture out for some sight-seeing across the state of Virginia.  Roanoke.  Lexington.  Harrisonburg.  Richmond.  Jamestown.  Virginia Beach.  I think the place that stands out most in my mind is Appomattox.  On Palm Sunday, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant (sometimes referred to as “Unconditional Surrender Grant”).  The meeting took place at the Mclean Home in the small rural town of Appomattox Court House.  As I quietly walked through the small village consisting of restored buildings standing where they were originally located in 1865, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.  “Wow.  This is where the Civil War ended…the very spot Lee surrendered to Grant and where the Confederates laid down their rifles.”  I also remember feeling sadness which transformed into hope.  I mourned the loss of the estimated 630,000 men who shed their blood and gave their lives.  Hope sparked in my heart as I considered the outcome of the surrender.

The sun began to set.  As I mulled over the implications of this important historical surrender, I made my way back to my rental car.  Suddenly, a still small voice whispered within my heart.  “Your surrender to Me is even more significant than this surrender was.”  I pondered that thought.  Lee’s surrender to Grant resulted in a lasting impact upon our nation.  My surrender to the Lordship of Jesus has an even more eternally transforming impact on my life.  A new relationship was formed between the North and the South which produced a new way of life.  Since I surrendered to Christ, I am no longer an enemy of God.  He is now my friend (John 15:14-15; James 4:4).  I am no longer spiritually dead in my sins and transgressions (Ephesians 2:1-3), but I possess spiritual life that results in a new quality of living (John 10:10; 2Corinthians 5:17).  To gain this new life, the only blood that was spilled was His (Romans 5:8-10).

Have you surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?  There is no neutral ground, that is, there is not a “no man’s land” with the Lord.  You are either for Him or against Him (Matthew 12:30).  You are either an enemy or a friend.  Submit to the authority of God’s Word, the Bible (John 7:17; 8:31-32; 2Timothy 3:16-17).  Come to Jesus according to His terms with an attitude of “unconditional surrender,” and you will discover the abundant life you’ve always wanted.