I grew up singing the old hymns. Though I really like the beat of rock and roll, the lyrics of some of these hymns speak volumes about faith in Jesus. It is also good that many of these hymns have been updated to reach people today. What I find interesting is some of the stories behind the songwriters of these hymns. Many of them were seeking God’s will when they wrote their timeless songs such as Judson Van DeVenter.
Judson Van DeVenter was an artist and an art teacher when he was called to be an evangelist. He struggled for five years with this decision, finally going into ministry full-time, preaching throughout America, England and Scotland. During this time, he wrote over 100 hymns and traveled with Winfield S. Weeden, who was a singer. Van DeVenter seems to have written “I Surrender All” during the time he was struggling to decide to become an evangelist (Macomber, 2003-2020).
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live
I surrender all,
I surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory to His name!
The lyrics of this hymn not only reflect his own struggle, but become words of encouragement for anyone wanting to follow Jesus completely. The key to surrendering our lives completely to Jesus is to daily live in His presence as penned by Van DeVenter in the first stanza of the song. In order to do this, we must trust Jesus with everything in our lives, our families, our finances, our employment, our feelings and our hearts.
I wonder how many times Judson Van DeVenter read Matthew 19: 16-30 for guidance in his profession. If you are looking for guidance, this passage speaks to our heart’s motivation for following what Jesus wants us to do.
16 …“Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[e] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
In this passage, it is clear that the rich young man, though trying to be devout, was unwilling to give away his wealth to follow Jesus. This is true of many of us in America today. Perhaps this is why it took Van DeVenter five years to decide to go into the ministry. For some, it may not be giving up finances, but rather professional reputation in order to follow Jesus. We have to daily be able to give up ourselves, our plans, our schedules and all that make us who we are in order for Jesus to be Lord of our lives. This is so much easier to say/write, than to do. We need to ask ourselves each morning what we are willing to give up in order to follow Jesus for that day.
This is when we need to perservere and ask for God’s grace every morning. If everyday we give everything to Jesus, we will “…receive a hundred times as much asn will inherit eternal life,” as Jesus tells us, or in the words of Judson Van DeVenter:
All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory to His name!
Reference
Macomber, C. 2003-2020. Judson W. Van DeVenter. http://bereanbibleheritage.org/extraordinary/vandeventer_judson.php, Retrieved on June 17, 2020.
