What does 'I gave myself to Christ' mean?

[rwillenborg]

I’m posting this here, because I’ve only heard this from evangelicals.
I really have no idea what this means. What happens exactly to you when you give yourself to Christ? You can do this at any age? Does Christ do something in return? Does this change your responsibilities to Him (ie - once you are a Catholic, you are expected to fullfill your Sunday obligation, is that the same for ‘giving yourself to Christ’?) Is this the same as ‘accepting Christ into your heart’ and/or ‘being saved’?
And, apparently, this can happen anywhere, too? I heard some girls saying they did it in the bathroom at their elementary school.
Again, these are simply phrases I’ve heard bantered around, and, since I don’t know any evangelicals except in passing, I was hoping some kind souls on the interwebz would be able to help me out.
Again, I just don’t understand exactly what this means, or what happens after this event. Can you change your mind afterwards? Like, can you ‘un-give’ yourself to Christ?
Thanks in advance for your time. Everyone here has always been so helpful with my questions in the past. I really appreciate it!

 

[SteveVH]

I’m posting this here, because I’ve only heard this from evangelicals.
I really have no idea what this means. What happens exactly to you when you give yourself to Christ? You can do this at any age? Does Christ do something in return? Does this change your responsibilities to Him (ie - once you are a Catholic, you are expected to fullfill your Sunday obligation, is that the same for ‘giving yourself to Christ’?) Is this the same as ‘accepting Christ into your heart’ and/or ‘being saved’?
And, apparently, this can happen anywhere, too? I heard some girls saying they did it in the bathroom at their elementary school.
Again, these are simply phrases I’ve heard bantered around, and, since I don’t know any evangelicals except in passing, I was hoping some kind souls on the interwebz would be able to help me out.
Again, I just don’t understand exactly what this means, or what happens after this event. Can you change your mind afterwards? Like, can you ‘un-give’ yourself to Christ?
Thanks in advance for your time. Everyone here has always been so helpful with my questions in the past. I really appreciate it!

When I got married I “gave myself” to my wife. Whether or not I really “gave myself” to her cannot be determined until the end of my life ( or marriage). The words are a promise of sorts. The reality must be lived out. So I would say that “giving your life to Christ” at best, is a good place to start, but it means nothing unless you actually do and that will not be determined until the end.

 

[Garyjohn2]

I think it’s pretty straight forward. Giving of yourself, like Christ gave himself for us. Giving over your will to God’s will. Giving your life as a living sacrifice. This idea is not foreign to catholics. Christ said “give away all that you have and follow me.” and “he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” This is the idea they are conveying. They have (or are communicating that they want to) given themselves to Christ. This is something we should all aspire to! I think it’s what Mother Theresa did.

Also, people dedicate their children to God, kind of like sanctifying their life. Maybe this is what they are trying to say. It makes perfect sense to me.

I’m trying to do this too, but it’s very difficult. I’m not very good at it… But I won’t give up!

 

[rwillenborg]

I kind of thought that might be what it was all about, but when I’ve heard people talk about it, it sounded like they were suggesting that it was a singular event, not an ongoing process. Myabe I just didn’t hear them right.
The marriage analogy makes sense though. On a specific day, I gave myself to my husband, but that doesn’t mean you stop after that specific day.