The word surrender doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. It sounds like waving a white flag. Like losing the battle. Like admitting defeat.
No one grows up hoping they’ll get the chance to surrender someday.
And yet, Jesus says surrender is the way to life.
Whether you splurged on Fat Tuesday, attended an Ash Wednesday service, or decided to give up coffee, sugar, or social media for 40 days, Lent has begun. It’s the period in the church calendar commemorating Jesus Christ’s temptation by the devil in the wilderness, his crucifixion, and his glorious resurrection.
But what if the focus on all of the secular activities distracts us from understanding the real relevance of what a life surrendered to Jesus means? Too often, we reduce it to rule-keeping. To moral effort. To behavior modification. Go to church. Avoid bad habits. Give something up. Be a little more disciplined
But what if we’ve misunderstood what surrender really means?
If Christianity is just another ethical system — a self-improvement plan with religious language attached, some people will feel proud of how well they’re doing, while others quietly decide they want nothing to do with it.
What if surrender has a different meaning? What if it isn’t about restriction — but release? What if it means surrendering guilt instead of striving? Surrendering shame instead of hiding? Surrendering control instead of exhausting ourselves trying to manage everything?
In Matthew 16, Jesus says: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?’” (Matthew 16:24-26, ESV)
So, what does living a life of surrender look like, not just during Lent? In the passage above, the emphasis is on the Person you’re following, not the cross you’re bearing. Denying yourself (submission) and taking up your cross are not ends unto themselves. They are means to an end. The end is following Jesus. The point is following Jesus. And that changes everything.
When we surrender to Him, it is not because we are forced into defeat, it's because we have encountered love. Because we have tasted grace. Because we know what it means to be rescued from sin, from striving, from trying to save ourselves.
That kind of surrender is not losing. It’s trusting.
And here’s the paradox Jesus invites us into: when we loosen our grip on self-preservation, self-promotion, and self-centered living, we don’t shrink. We don’t disappear. We don’t become less. We become free.
Lent isn’t ultimately about what you give up for 40 days. It’s about who you follow for a lifetime. So maybe the better question isn’t, “What are you surrendering this season?” Maybe it’s this: Who are you following? Because the road you’re on has a destination.
