Now on to what you had to say Todd. Our experiences in living our life along side Jesus MUST be done with a heart that is totally surrendered to God. Unfortunately whether a new christian or an old one, doing this as you said is the task that usually gets in our way of actually being like Christ. Having been a christian for the better part of three decades has left me bewildered and confused at times. To totally submit to God so that we might experience that true and total relationship with all that God has to offer can be an insurmountable obstacle in front of us.

My experience has been when I’m at my lowest point, then my relationship with God is at it’s best rather than when I’ve experienced the good times in life. Now I’m not saying that I haven’t had a good relationship when life has been good, but rather that God can generally affect us in a more positive way when we need him the most.

As you’ve realized that SURRENDER is the key to our relationship with God, how might we maintain that relationship with Him when we experience good things in life? I’ve struggled many times to try and understand just what God would have me do in this walk with Him, but unfortunately I’ve failed Him much more than I’d like to admit.

As you have stated, our submission to His will can be and usually is a struggle because we don’t have the mind of Christ even though we like to think that we’re Christ like in our behaviour and attitudes.

I’ve found that continued reflection and comparison to Christ and His actions is the best way to understand how He would have us live our lives. Although we are affected by tv, radio, newspapers and the world in general to shape our views on what is happening in life, we can’t allow ourselves to shape our lifes around those things. While we try to walk with Jesus, we can’t accept the behavior and attitudes that are affected by the world. We must stay focused on Christ regardless of the consequences to us personally.

While you admit there is no easy answer to the problem of SURRENDER and SUBMISSION to God we must continue to be diligent in our attempt to do so. Continued exposure to the world and it’s effects on us can lead to our complete downfall.

Thanks for your reflection on “Questions of Faith”, for faith in God is also key to a positive relationship with Him.

I liked this a lot, and I thought the central idea was correct; I’m sure it has been presented to me before in other ways. I guess the problem I have is that submission to Christ, to the will of God, or however you’d like to phrase it, is such an intangible. Some people say they hear God telling them what to do, and they submit to this with little question (which has always struck me as at least mildly idiotic, no offense to anyone intended, for the Bible tells us to “test all things…”). Others of us, and I have to say I fall into this category, can usually only guess at the will of God and obey what we believe to be the right path with the information we have. The right path can often only be circumspectly identified by knowledge of Scripture and our own broken sense of righteousness. I’ve made many mistakes that began with my thinking they were the right thing to do. I was submitted to my perception of the will of God, and still made the wrong choice or choices (or so it seems to me now). I would find it useful to see you to explore the notion of submission more carefully with a mind towards the practical application for the grasping individual who is immersed in his own process of submission. I guess that’s really asking you to explore than notion of a deeper relationship with Christ. The grand concept I agree is correct; thanks for your thoughts on this topic!

- Steve