I have an old Webster’s Dictionary and it defines the word ‘consecrate’ as follows: to set apart as sacred. Another word I like is the word ‘capitulate’ which Webster defines as “to surrender on conditions agreed upon”.
Many years ago, we had a very intelligent lawyer attending our church. I had talked to him on a number of occasions about his need for Christ, but for some reason, he just couldn’t grasp what that relationship would look like or what it would mean to him. One Sunday in my message to the congregation, I talked about the need “to capitulate to Christ.” That next week he sent me a note and said, “Leonard, I want you to know that I have capitulated to Christ.” From that day on he was truly consecrated to Christ and you could see it in his life. He was different.
Recently I shared a meditation with you based on John 12:3 which reads – “Then Mary took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.”
Sometime earlier, it is obvious that Mary had capitulated to Christ. She had yielded her heart and life to Him. From that time on, she was consecrated to Christ. The act of her anointing Him with the spikenard is a powerful picture of a life consecrated to Christ.
Question: Have you personally capitulated to Christ? Have you come to Him on the terms He established? Jesus told Nicodemus, a ruler among the Jews, “You must be born again.” Being born again is a spiritual birth. It happens when we acknowledge that we are sinners by nature and practice. We admit that we can’t save ourselves. We realize there is only one Savior, Jesus Christ. We ask Him to forgive us of our sin and to come into our lives and take over. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me.”
Once we have surrendered our lives to Him, as Savior, then we need to consecrate or set apart our lives to be lived for His glory in whatever way(s) He wills. When we make this commitment to Christ, we begin to experience what the Apostle Paul calls in Romans 15:29, “the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.” You will be amazed at the different ways the LORD will bless you as you walk with Him.
I love what Sidlow Baxter has to say about this. “True consecration to Christ, simplifies life, for it leaves the management to Him. It also unifies life, for it blends all of our motives and activities in one, all-controlling aim to please Him. It purifies life, for it expels all that is disapproved by Him. It amplifies life, for it gives the divine will fulfillment through us to uplift Him. And it glorifies life, for it makes us a blessing to others and a praise to Him.”
(Folks, read that over several times. This is what happens when we consecrate our lives to Jesus Christ.)
Isaiah 53 is a prophetic passage that focuses on the Savior who would one day come and who would suffer greatly for us. In verse 11 we read, “He (Christ) shall see of the labor (travail) of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” Brothers and sisters, if we really comprehend all that Jesus endured securing forgiveness of our sins and eternal life for us – then surely, we will be moved to a total commitment of our lives for Him.
Mary’s love for Jesus moved her to give a highly-prized, very costly ointment to anoint Jesus’ feet and wipe them with her hair.
How deep does our love for Christ go? What does our love for Him motivate us to do? Would you be willing to take a blank sheet of paper and at the top write – “Dear LORD, today I consecrate my life to You for as long as I live. This sheet of paper represents my life. You fill in the details as You will. My signature is at the bottom.”
For Your Glory, LORD,
Pastor Leonard
