Dr. Tom Barnard writes that in the spiritual life, there are things that belong together as perfectly matched oars. Two of the more important ones are surrender and service. They go together. Surrender without service is hollow piety. Service without surrender is sterile duty. Try activating one without the other, and the spiritual cruise will result in circle making. No significant gain will result from such foolish exercise.
Isaiah 50 is the prophetic foreshadowing of the trial of Jesus Christ and His response to His accusers. Jesus demonstrates the two oars of surrender and service through His personal surrender to God and yielding to the action of the mob. As someone said, “Wherever the Spirit of the Lord controls the heart there is a passion to serve.”
(Tom Barnard, Tuesday Morning email devotions. Nov. 15, 2005. Used by Permission).
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