Photo by Nick-Fewings on Unsplash
This rabbit hole is deep, so stay with me as I explain it.
Chapter six of the New Testament gospel story of Luke reveals a pivotal point in Jesus’s life. He spends the night in earnest prayer before choosing his traveling companions (the 12 disciples) and preaches (what has been called) the sermon on the mount to a huge gathering of people.
“You don’t get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree.
The health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives.
It’s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.”
Luke 6:43-45 The Message
I love the metaphor Jesus uses.
Have you ever picked up an apple that “looks” shiny and red, only to bite into it and find it’s mealy and rotten?
The health of the tree is revealed by the fruit, just as their words reveal the health of a person.
The language of the King James Bible says it this way.
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Luke 6:45
Applying this to surrendering
You surrender with your mouth, but it does not mean you have surrendered with your heart. In other words, you can say, “I surrender” all day long and not mean it.
It takes more than words; it takes action, and action comes from the heart.
This helps me understand why (in a spiritual setting, like church) I say I surrender, but my actions do not show my words.
For example, during a service, I may feel a conviction about something that moves me to say, “Lord, I surrender.” However, once the conviction goes away, so does my desire to surrender.
The initial example is someone making an emotional response to accepting Jesus into their heart. They say the words now, but their heart does not accept them.
Once the emotion goes away, the words become meaningless.
Another example is feeling convicted about giving up some vice or lifestyle that isn’t pleasing to God. In the moment’s emotion, you utter the words, but once the emotion goes away, you realize in your heart that you have no intention of letting go.
The Old Testament words of Solomon help us understand this.
“A proverb quoted by fools is limp as a wet noodle.”
Proverbs 26:7 The Message
In other words, you “say” the words without any conviction in your heart.
How does surrendering work?
Surrendering works when emotion is generated from the heart and not the head, but what does that mean?
It means this.
Emotions of the head
Emotions are fickle and are generated by outside factors, like things you hear (music, a speech, or a sermon).
Emotions are strong enough to prompt a response, like saying, “I surrender.”
Emotional responses can cause significant damage, like lashing out and hurting someone in the heat of an argument.
Emotions of the heart
These emotions are different in that they come from within. Instead of hearing or seeing something, these emotions come from the Spirit of God.
You can see or hear something that evokes it, but it comes from deep within your being (soul) and usually causes you to pause and think about it.
These emotions are directing you to change something in or about your life because the Spirit of God (God the Holy Spirit) guides you into his purpose for your life.
These emotions tend to linger instead of going away. This is the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit.
How to know the difference
Understanding the difference is essential in the life of a Christ-follower.
Emotions of the head (as I am calling them) flood your being with feelings that can be strong but are temporary. They can cause you to say things (even well-intended things) that your heart cannot support.
When this happens in a Christian environment, it is likely something you should consider.
Emotions of the heart (as I call them) prompt a conviction deep within you that something needs to change. They tend to linger because the Lord encourages you to deal with them.
This can happen in a Christian environment or in your private time with the Lord. The needed change does not mean everything will go smoothly (it usually doesn’t). It means God’s grace will be present as you walk through it.
Applying the apple metaphor
The emotions of the head are like the shiny apple on the outside that is rotten on the inside. This is because your heart (the inner you) has no intention of changing. It means your words are “limp as a wet noodle.” Your actions prove that your heart is unchanged.
The emotions of the heart are like shiny apples, but once bitten into, you find a juicy, delicious treat. This is because your heart has surrendered to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and your words confirm it, followed by your actions as evidence of the surrender.
Why this matters
This matters because the Christ-follower adversary (the devil) will use the emotions of the head to confuse you in an attempt to turn you away from following the Lord.
The emotions you experience are real but are without substance, and if you do not understand this, he (the adversary) will use it to trip you up.
Humanity is living in an excitingly scary time, and Christ-followers must step up to the plate in preparation.
The call of the Spirit is going out across the land for light bearers and (wisdom-speaking) truth givers to bring the words of life to a lost and dying world—one person at a time.
Will you join me?
The journey is exciting and scary, and I am thankful for everyone who is willing to accompany me on it.
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