The Meaning of Full Surrender (pp. 3, 4). What does it mean to fully surrender to Christ? To fully surrender to Christ doesn't mean to become a recluse, but a reformer; not a monk, but a manager; not a loner, but a leader. A Biblical surrender is a thinking surrender, carefully carved by thoughtful self-examination and submission to Christ. To surrender is to be so completely preoccupied with Christ that you hunger for your life to reflect His life as though in a mirror. No one, of course, will achieve a true full surrender in this life, but that in no way negates His call on us to be perfect. Jesus said, "'Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect'" (Matthew 5:48). The goal of surrender, simply stated, is to be conformed to the likeness (or image) of Christ (see Romans 8:29), not as an exercise which leads to bondage, but to apprehend the true freedom that only Jesus offers. The irony of surrender is a paradox; it is a seeming contradiction that on further investigation is actually no contradiction at all. Surrender means not only that we surrender to something, but also that we surrender from some things. For that reason we will spend time not only on the vector our lives should take, but also on how to escape the worldly life we must learn to leave behind. To surrender is to abandon the comfortable orbit - the life of the cultural Christian. It is not to drop out; it is not an excuse for mediocrity. To fully surrender means to be so completely dependent upon Christ that obedience brands your behavior. Why do most miss out on this surrendered life? Human nature works on every one us to find "the comfortable orbit." When we first trust Christ, we draw close to the Light to feel His warmth, but soon we notice the brilliant beams of light pulsate like powerful strobes that expose every minute blemish in our character. It's hard to take the heat, so we often make a retreat. To retreat too far from the light, though, leaves us chilly--it's cold out there. So we explore until we find a nice, warm zone to comfortably orbit around the Light, not too close, not too far away. Not cold, but not on fire either. And you hate it; you are miserable. You want to be on fire for Christ, to trust Him completely, to obey, to live out of the overflow of an abundant life, filled with purpose and meaning. If you are ready to recklessly abandon the comfortable orbit, if you are ready to negotiate the terms of a full surrender with the Lord, then welcome to Devotions for the Man in the Mirror.