Waving The White Flag...Again

I've been doing a lot of reflecting as my summer break nears it's end. One of my best friends Jameson was in town for his birthday. Every time I see or talk to him he asks me about two:fifth; the movement Travis and I started last summer.

Last summer was a great experience. Travis and I received tremendous support for two:fifth. I still see people wearing their two:fifth wristbands and I still see our stickers on random objects around town. The money we raised went to a great cause and the time we volunteered was appreciated by many. Since last summer, however, I have struggled to find a direction for two:fifth.

It was not until I heard a sermon a couple weeks ago that I began to realize why finding direction was so difficult. The sermon topic was starting a new relationship with God. The preacher reminded the congregation of the need to surrender our lives to God. 

While reading one of my favorite Christian blogs, Of Dust And Kings, I came across a post about submitting to God. In that post the author wrote,

"For many years I thought that I had found a great compromise whereby I could be on God’s side by being a regular church attendee and living a (mostly) moral life while still doing as I pleased most of the time."

Then, just last Sunday, the same preacher from before continued his series on starting a new relationship with God. I could barely contain myself when he shouted the words, "Some of us are living a saved life, but not a surrendered life." 

Over the years I have learned not to ignore God when He brings that amount of clarity into my life. The path to following God is narrow, but it is straight. We make it sinuous when we purposefully miss the signs He is giving us.

The reason last summer felt so fulfilling was because I gave everything (well close to everything) to God. I let God take control of my life. Approximately 95% of my income from my summer job last year went into building two:fifth and creating ways to help others. It was God that blessed me with the funds, so in no way am I bragging about being fiscally obedient to God. 

I wanted to surrender my life to God, but somewhere over the course of a year I got off track. Between the sermons, the blogs, and me reading the scripture that inspired two:fifth, I have come to realize that's all I ever wanted out of the movement anyway; to be a constant reminder to serve God and others before ourselves. 

The scripture that inspired two:fifth was Philippians 2:5:

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus."

Paul then details how Jesus humbled himself despite his divine nature. God incarnate made himself a servant of mankind. If we are to be Christ-like then we must surrender ourselves to the will of God.

Surrendering your life to God does not necessarily mean you will become a pastor, youth minister, or anything within the church for that matter. The need for faithful and obedient servants of the Lord extends to every hemisphere of the earth. As the blogger reminds us, it is not enough to live a mostly moral life. Piety becomes self-righteous and pharisaical when we look for a compromise between total surrender and living for ourselves. 

It is with this post that I ask all my brothers and sisters in Christ to hold me accountable as I surrender my life to God once more. I have lived a saved life long enough. I desire to live a surrendered life for the rest of my days.