Unreserved

Over the last four or five years, I’ve sensed a call to relinquish a favorite pleasure. At times I would pause and “fast.” But last week, I “let go.” I think it may have been the first time I made an unreserved surrender to the Lord. I was reminded of something Bonhoeffer wrote:

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Following Jesus… will liberates us from all man-made dogmas, from every burden and oppression, from every anxiety and torture which afflicts the conscience. Those who follow Jesus escape from the hard yoke of their own laws, and submit to the kindly yoke of Jesus Christ.

But does this mean that we ignore the seriousness of his commands? Far from it.

We can only achieve perfect liberty and enjoy fellowship with Jesus when his command, his call to absolute discipleship, is appreciated in its entirety.

Only the one who follows the command of Jesus single-mindedly and unresistingly lets his yoke rest upon him, finds his burden easy, and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right way. The command of Jesus is hard, unutterably hard, for those who try to resist it. But for those who willingly submit, the yoke is easy, and the burden is light. “His commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3).

And if we answer the call to discipleship, where will it lead us? What decisions and partings will it demand? To answer this question, we shall have to go to him, for only he knows the answer. Only Jesus Christ, who bids us follow him, knows the journey’s end. But we do know that it will be a road of boundless mercy. Discipleship means joy.

—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 37, 38

Do you feel the challenge here? When I really face this, I feel a fear in my gut. What will happen if I give an unconditional “Yes”?