A hymn that I think is absolutely beautiful but difficult for me to sing is I Surrender All. It is not because I am unfamiliar with the tune but because the message of the song continually reminds me the hypocrisy I continue to have within my own life. At times, I have sung it just like thousands of others have, and yet never really meant the words that I sang – words that I sang as part of the church’s worship service:
All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, in his presence daily live.
I surrender all, I surrender all, all to Thee, my blessed savior, I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender, humbly at His feet I bow; worldly pleasures all forsaken, take me, Jesus, take me now.
All to Jesus I surrender, make me, Savior, wholly Thine; let me feel the Holy Spirit – truly know that Thou art mine.
All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; fill me with Thy love and power, let thy blessings fall on me.
With this song, if we study it at its simple meaning, we are making a vow to God that we are giving ourselves – all that we have, all that we are – completely and selfishly to God. Since most of us sing this song in our worship services, I think about the verse, Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil (Ecclesiastes 5:1). I wonder how many times I have sang hymns and other songs during the worship service where I have “offered a sacrifice of fools?” With this in mind, I am reminded of the verse, When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee (Deuteronomy 23:21). Again, a similar verse bears witness: When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5). How many times have I sang that hymn and have not done what I have promised? How many times have I pledged to give God everything, yet have withheld my talents, my time, and my resources because it was not convenient to me?
There is still so much more to our Christianity than singing these hymns of our faith. Our faith is a living faith that requires each of us daily to rely on God to provide us the grace to face another day. It is a faith that brings us joy in times of trouble, but also fills our hearts with songs and praise. Its not an easy faith, as many around the world claims it is – it is a faith where conflict between the flesh and the spirit rage on; it is a pursuing faith that will not let us rest in the temptations of the flesh without great discomfort. Just these two hymns, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross and I Surrender All, contain a radical message for both the young and old Christian. The first reminds us that we need to be reminded of the cost of the cross, the atonement and blood that was shed for our sins while the second reminds us that we do owe all that we have and all that we are to a loving and merciful God. I know that I only shared two hymns in this particular post, but perhaps someday I will probably feel led to discuss the discipleship of other hymns of our faith.
