If I confess with my mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in my heart that God has raised Him from the dead, I will be saved (Romans 10:9). It doesn't say that I am saved, but will be. I need to keep that in my mind as I consider this entry today. I wondered, after reading Chambers' entry, when does my Master have possession of me. The answer that popped up first was that I am His when I confess Him as Lord (hence, I call Him Master). But it says that I will be saved, not that I am at that moment. The other verbs are possibilities, not certainties (that's their "mood" or "mode"); and they are without time reference (a Greek anomaly).
So, that verse relied on by so many as a basis for salvation makes no reference of time for the event, refers to the event as a possibility, and leaves the result in the future. Now, I can read Chambers' entry better. He says that the work of a missionary is to surrender possession of myself to my Master. I think that is the work of everyone, not just missionaries, but certainly their work as well. It is a spiritual discipline of relinquishment, where I give up my right to myself, my time, my relationships, my work, and whatever else can be ascribed to me.
Once at that point, I seek only what my Master provides; work, means, methods, and timing. Consider a church project, any church project. What this means for me is that I do not take command, but leave my Master in command. He is responsible for the materials, the means, the methods, and the timing. Any one of those can become such a distraction for me that I lose focus on my Master. Then I become stressed, irritable, frustrated (it's not happening in my time-table) and so on. I have seen this in churches, and in myself; even in the work place removed from believers. It's a human thing rather than a divine thing. For a church, that's a problem, a big problem.
I want to please others; I have a dangerous desire to be accepted by them. This is an area I have to be very careful. Letting my Master lead can become offensive, and I have to let that happen. But if I can relax into this sense of the provision of my Master, then I can sense His peace, and the turmoil around me will not touch me. For instance, Friday, I stayed home with my family instead of going to help on a project at the church. Here I let the distraction of my family relationships take me away from what my Master wanted. I could feel it, and even though I stayed with them, I played a game on the computer to try and enjoy it. That wasn't "being" with my family; it was simply not being at church to help.
I don't do much when I am helping with the church project, I don't know how. I have to be taught, and helped, and my work often has to be corrected by others who do know what they're doing. But I can sweep with the best of them. I can clean without being told how. And that is also a need, not a "glamorous" one, but a need. But I believe that my presence is also used by my Master in other ways. I don't know how or details, but He seems to want me there. Perhaps it's encouraging to others, I don't know.
That is one example. But there are others, programs that get started, but quickly run into problems. How those problems are faced is where the challenge to submit to my Master comes to the surface. Will I submit to His work, in His time, using His methods, and His means? The alternative is to try to make it happen myself; quickly making it about me, taking it personal, and becoming angry. The peace of my Master's Spirit which transcends understanding only comes when I accept the things I cannot change, and give them back to my Master. He owned them from the beginning; I just took them for myself.
So, today I will seek to relinquish to my Master all I am. I will need to do that tomorrow as well. And Tuesday, I will need to relinquish again. I guess I can try and make a week of it. I wonder what He wants for me today. I will seek His work, in His timing, with His means, and His methods. My part will be to look for the work, the means, and the methods He has, which means I need to ask around. I already know my Master does not give one person the whole view, so I need others to help me with it. It will be interesting to see what happens.
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