Command 11 : Be Perfect | Day 73

Be Perfect in Love!

Over the years, I have asked many young people if they love the Lord, and they assure me that they do. Then I ask them if they have fully surrendered their lives to Him, and they tell me, "No." They are holding on to treasures, plans, goals, desires, or passions and are afraid to yield them to God.

Their love for the Lord was only in word, because when we truly love others, we will be eager to give them all we have, even to the extent of laying down our lives for them.

The evidence of imperfect love is fear, because “perfect love casteth out fear” (I John 4:18).

What is it then that we really fear? In many cases we fear losing control! Have you ever wondered why the nation of Israel conquered a heathen nation by God's power and then turned right around and worshiped those heathen gods? Why would they serve gods who were unable to deliver the people who trusted in them?

The answer is significant: We like to worship gods whom we can control. A conquered god meets this qualification. We tend to create gods who will allow us to do what we want to do. However, the things that our old nature desires bring disillusionment, boredom, and destruction. This dilemma is the basis of Christ's teaching:

“Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35).

Yesterday I mentioned a young lady who found freedom by total surrender. A few days after she made this surrender, she told me that she was experiencing less freedom than she initially had experienced. I explained to her that as soon as we surrender our lives to God, He will begin working on specific areas and deal with them one by one. She gave a big smile and said, "That's exactly what is happening."

This is the point at which commitments would be in order. God wants us to commit our friends, money, music, schedule, ambitions, reputation, marriage, and possessions to Him. Paul confidently stated, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (II Timothy 1:12).

God asked me to give Him each of these areas of my life, and it was a struggle to let them go. Yet, as I did, I grew in faith. In time, He gave back to me what I had committed to Him, but in a way that I never expected. For example, I gave my money to Him, and He began to provide for needs in exact amounts in answer to prayer. When I gave my friends to Him they left, but then He taught me how to make disciples. However, what I failed to give to God I lost anyway, but with much sorrow. My appeal to you is to surrender each area of your life to God as an expression of perfect love.