From Theory to Actual Experience
To me, a theory, no matter how pleasing it sounds, is worthless unless it can be worked out in actual experience; and on this basis I have passed through a number of crises in my experience during the last few years. As I read the many assurances in the word of God that the Christian should have a peace and joy which the world cannot give, and that there need not be anxious care in regard to the temporal things of life, I have asked myself the question, Am I experiencing the happiness, peace, and freedom from worry which a Christian should possess? And the answer was forced upon me that, as far as I was concerned, these divine provisions were but a mere theory. But implicit faith in the word of God convinced me that the teaching need not be merely a theory, but could be and should be actual experience.
As I searched for the cause of my lack, I found that it centered in what seemed to me an impossibility,— to have love in my heart for certain individuals. I knew the disease spot was in my heart, and although I had prayed about the matter for years, it seemed to me that I could not be expected to change the affections of my heart, and therefore could not be at fault if I did not have love in my heart for everybody. But all unexpectedly, a time of crisis arrived in my life at this point. I was impressed by the Spirit of God that what was needed on my part was a full surrender, and right there on my knees I settled the matter with God. The seemingly impossible was accomplished, and I arose with love in my heart, and entered into a new and deeper Christian experience which has been attended by wonderful joy and peace.
Later on I listened to the message of righteousness by faith, and saw that while I had known this Bible truth as a theory, it was my privilege to experience it in my everyday life. How vividly the great possibilities of Christian experience were portrayed, and the meaning of complete surrender explained! We were told that we were to yield the mind to God for Him to use in thinking His thoughts; to give our hands to God for Him to use in doing His work; to give our feet to God for Him to use in taking us where He would have us go; to surrender our mouths to God for Him to use in speaking His words; in fact, we were to surrender our entire being to God for use as He sees best.
As I listened to the earnest appeal, my heart was stirred, and yet a question arose in my mind — a question I would not have been willing to present to God, nor would I have been willing for my brethren to know it was in my heart; but it kept me from taking part in the testimony meeting at the conclusion of the service.
The meeting closed with my question unsettled, but in the days that followed I thought it through. The question, now that I have found the solution, seems very trivial. It was simply this: If I make such a complete surrender as is called for, shall I not lose many pleasures to which I am justly entitled as an individual with preferences and likes and dislikes? The Spirit of the Lord was my teacher, and led me to ponder why I should hesitate to make a complete surrender to God? Had not the greater joy I had been experiencing come as a result of surrender on points which God had brought to my attention? and had not God done enough to prove His love for me when He sent His own Son to die for me? Why need I fear, then, that iI should not experience the fullness of joy when fully surrendered to God? The day came when I knelt in full surrender, as far as I could understand it; and it is my privilege to testify to the fact that since then I have known the happiest time of my life.
From boyhood, the distribution of our literature has been a habit with me; but now came the great desire not only to distribute papers and tracts, but in connection therewith to add my testimony as to what Jesus means to me as He dwells in my heart. What a surprise it was to see the response which came from the people as they listened to this testimony. Men holding positions of high responsibility, business men, workmen, men who were members of various churches, and men who boasted of never having been inside a church,—all showed an eagerness to talk with me, not about a theory of religion, but as to what it means to have Christ enthroned in the heart, doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves, and giving victory over evil habits. And within a few months scores of these men of the world were reading our denominational books.
I rejoice in the fact that happiness and a deep Christian experience come as we fully surrender, which means more than merely saying we surrender all; it means going down into the recesses of our hearts, and letting God take away the hindrances to spiritual life which have been hidden away for a lifetime and perhaps never before clearly recognized as sin.--Far Eastern Division Worker.
