Jesus during his ministry stated many times that his disciples must lay down everything to follow him. How does a person know that they've given everything to God? What does their life look like? Hope my question makes sense.
The way I want to answer this is by referring to the words of one of the ancient desert fathers I recently came across. St. Sisoes the Great, it is said, when on his death bed was seen by the brothers at the monastery speaking to invisible people. When they inquired, the dying monk said that the angels had come to take him, but he was requesting more time to repent. The brothers insisted that he had lived a long and virtuous life of repentance, that he had nothing left to repent of. His words to them was this, "Truly, I do not know if I have even begun to repent."
I don't think we will have ever given everything to God. This entire life is a life of discipleship, a life of taking up our cross. A life of failing and dying, of repentance, and the gracious comfort of God's love in the Gospel. We will tumble, we will fumble. We will take ten steps back for every one step forward we make. We will surrender, and steal back from God, and God because He is kind forgive us.
We should never think we have already finished the journey, accomplished the work, that the race is over--because it's not. We must, instead, rest beneath the shadow of the cross. Press on, day in, day out. Prayer is to be our breath, repentance our daily cross, faith our one treasure, Christ our true food and drink. Christ before us at all times.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
-CryptoLutheran
