How Surrender Unlocks True Change

“If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?” Psalm 130:3

Our readings during this Lenten season often remind us of our weaknesses, our inability to consistently live the life God desires us to have: a life lived in Him, with Him, and through Him, as His children (which, as baptized Christians, we are). However, the fact is, we’re sinners and there’s no way around that. Yes, God always gives us hope of redemption and a clear path back to Him, but like in today’s readings, He’s always honest with us, telling us the cold hard fact that we will never be good enough on our own accord, no matter how hard we try. Our weaknesses make us incapable of pleasing God. So if we want to live a godly and holy life, we can only do it by surrendering our lives to God’s love, making Him the most important thing in our lives. We must make God more important than ourselves, more important than our spouses and families, more important than our friends, jobs, and possessions. The beauty (and the difficulty) of actually living a life where God is number one is that it’s counterintuitive. It’s backward to our way of thinking because it requires surrendering to God, which brings happiness and holiness of life. On the other hand, living a life according to our own will, in the end, always brings sadness and pain (because it brings sin into our lives). 

So, have I brought you down enough yet? Are you feeling depressed and hopeless? Are you ready to give up? 

Don’t - because while everything I said is true, the good news is that through His great love, God gave us a gift that solves the entire issue of life and death, good and evil, sin and redemption. He gave us his Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Good News, who is the solution to every problem, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No, we can’t do it on our own; we can’t work ourselves to heaven because it’s not about effort, it’s not about trying hard enough, it’s not about being perfect. It’s about surrender. It’s about giving ourselves to Jesus, body, mind, and soul, and then (through His grace) allowing Him to lead us along His narrow way. Giving God control of our lives is scary and out of our comfort zone, but His way is the only way to happiness, holiness, and (eventually) to heaven. 

Our first reading gives us an excellent reminder of this by telling us that we can’t be part-time Christians. In truth, all of us have both virtuous and wicked qualities inside us, so we should remember that when we’re living a good and virtuous life, it would be foolhardy to sit back and think, “I’ve got it made now. I’m a pretty good Christian,” because the wicked side of us and the enemy who’s always tempting and lying to us is just waiting for us to lose our focus on Jesus. Then, he can step in and draw us to himself and away from God, urging us to believe the lie we might sometimes tell ourselves, that “I’m a good person; I deserve to have a little fun. What would it hurt for me to commit this sin just this once? After all, I’m only human. God will understand.” 

Our reading from Ezekiel helps us to never forget that when a virtuous man chooses to turn from the Lord and do evil, none of his virtuous deeds are remembered; he has fallen into sin. And in the same respect, when a wicked man repents and turns to the Lord, he will be saved and all his previous transgressions forgotten in the eyes of God. This is the life we all lead, to one degree or another, isn’t it? A life of sin and redemption. 

“If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?” Psalm 130:3

You see, it’s not about being good all the time and never sinning. That would be great, but we’re not capable of that. We’re sinners, and we’re going to sin. It’s about living a life in which we’re seeking God’s redemption every minute of every day, living our life striving to live our Act of Contrition as best we can through God’s grace “to sin no more and avoid the near occasion of sin.” It’s about living a life with a Lenten mindset 365 days a year. It’s about us giving ourselves to the Lord daily, because He gave Himself for us on the cross completely, once for all. 

Let us pray:
Lord, as we draw closer to you during this Lenten season through prayer, self-denial, and works of mercy, please protect us from all evil influences that seek to push us away from you, and please unleash in us whatever is needed for us to live a life of service to you, according to your will. Amen.