Christianity

Click on one of the links below to find an interpretation of the Step in this faith tradition.

1. Powerlessness
2. Belief
3. Surrender
4. Moral Inventory
5. Confession
6. Willingness
7. Fellowship
8. Forgiveness
9. Amends
10. Daily Examination
11. Prayer Meditation
12. Service

Step 3: We made a decision to completely surrender our lives over to Jesus Christ.

 

Principle: Faith

Step Three is an action step. Many analogies used to explain the 12 Steps describe Step One as the diagnosis, Step Two as the prescription, and Step Three as following the various steps prescribed by the physician in order to heal. This step requires a submission of one's will to follow directions and guidance from a source outside oneself. When we apply this analogy to our larger life, it means we surrender our need to control every last detail and allow ourselves to be guided by Divine will. In Christianity, this surrender is often called repentance. Repentance comes from the Latin word penser or ponder, meaning "to rethink." It requires us to rethink who is actually in charge of our lives, our destiny, our eternity.

Text or Verse

Ah, what is man that you should spare a thought for him,
the son of man, that you should care for him?
Yet you have made him little less than a god,
you have crowned him with glory and splendor,
made him lord over the works of your hands,
set all things under his feet?
Psalm 8

But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Practice

1. List those things which you have empowered to control your life. Consider your relationship with money, possessions, relationships, sex, work, status, drugs/alcohol, and pleasure.
2. Ask yourself how easy or difficult it would be to end this relationship. What would you need to give up or sacrifice? What would prevent you from doing so?
3. How willing are you to take the first steps toward creating a healthier relationship with any one of these things?
4. If you decide you are ready, share your goals, progress and obstacles with a mentor, sponsor, or prayer partner.

Resources

Rohr, Richard OFM. How Do We Breathe Underwater? The Gospel and 12-Step Spirituality. Center for Action and Contemplation. (go to the Links menu to connect to the web-site)

Dick B. The Good Book and the Big Book. A.A.'s Roots in the Bible. Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1997

Selby, Saul. Twelve Step Christianity. Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2000