Jesus said to his disciples very plainly, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). He continued, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (vs. 25-26).
Obviously Jesus is asking rhetorical questions so that his disciples really understand that we can’t sell out our souls. Put another way, “why sell your soul to the devil?” Your soul is worth so much more than earthly riches. If anyone really wants to be a disciple of Jesus, he must deny himself, take up his cross (be willing to suffer) and follow Christ. This is the true definition of surrender.
Yet millions of people struggle with surrendering to God. People usually don’t admit it, but they surrender every day to lots of other worldly things. They surrender their time to vanity, chasing after nicer things, and workaholism to pay for those things. Jesus gives us a better way. In fact, he is the way, the truth and the life. There is no other path to salvation. There are no other doors. If we miss the Jesus boat, we miss it altogether. There are no second chances once we die. We must surrender to God.