Scripture reading: II Chronicles 20:1–17

Let Go . . . Let God

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

In his delightful allegory of the Christian life entitled The Pilgrim’s Regress, C. S. Lewis paints an unforgettable picture of baptism. The main character, John, is seeking the meaning of life. His journey takes him through a landscape filled with philosophical, political, and religious options of one kind and another. Turned off by the church, he carefully avoids all that smacks of traditional Christianity. But everywhere he turns and every option he tries leaves him empty and spiritually bankrupt. Coming to great river, he discovers that his path is blocked and he has no where to go. Exhausted from all his labors, he looks up to see the one person he has so tried to avoid, Mother Kirk (the Church). Humbly he opens the conversation:

“I have come to give myself up,” he said.

“It is well,” said Mother Kirk. “You have come a long way round to reach this place, whither I would have carried you in a few moments. But it is very well.”

“What must I do?” said John.

“You must take off your rags,” said she, “. . . and then you must dive into this water.”

“Alas,” said he, “I have never learned to dive.”

“There is nothing to learn,” said she. “The art of diving is not to do anything new but simply to cease doing something. You have only to let yourself go.”

John was terrified at the thought of letting himself go and falling head first into the water. There must be some other way! Arguing with Mother Kirk he suggested that he could jump (feet first) into the water rather than diving. Wouldn’t that be sufficient? Mother Kirk was firm in her reply.

“If you jump, you will be trying to save yourself and you may be hurt. As well, you would not go deep enough. You must dive so that you can go right down to the bottom of the pool: for you are not to come up again on this side. There is a tunnel . . . far beneath the surface of the water, and it is through that that you must pass so that you may come up on the far side.”

When it comes to salvation we must meet the conditions that God sets or we will never experience the reality. We can’t save ourselves. We can’t negotiate the terms. We can only humble ourselves and fall head first into the waters of God’s infinite grace. There is no other way. The secret of going deep into God is no secret at all! It’s not what we do that saves us as much as what we cease from doing! Let go—let God.

When John finally surrendered and fell head first into the water, his dive was not very well executed. His form was awkward and his splash was big. But it didn’t matter. What did matter was that he had done what he was told to do. He ceased trying and just let go. He took the leap of faith and found himself engulfed in an ocean of grace!

What about you? Are you still trying to save yourself? Are you still arguing with God about the conditions he has set? Cease striving. Let go. Trust him. Come on in, the water’s fine.

In matters of the spirit, nothing fails like success

. . . [and] nothing succeeds like failure.

—Os Guinness

point to ponder • Don’t just do something, stand there.

prayer focus • Do you know someone enroute to spiritual bankruptcy? Pray for that leap of faith into the ocean of grace.