Am I willing to relinquish my self-interest, my self-centeredness, my dependence upon my own resources or upon others, and surrender my entire will, my entire life to God? Am I willing to trust in God absolutely and without any reservations? Am I prepared to acknowledge that all I am and all I have belong to my Creator, that I am not here for my own purposes, my own glory, but for the purposes and glory of God? Am I ready to confess that the only way to salvation and redemption is my utter surrender to God's will? . . .
Put in its simplest terms, salvation is feeling safe, living without fear, living with the serenity in confidence that we are the objects of God's unfailing love, and that we will always be safe whatever happens in life or in death, if we have a complete and childlike trust in God's love and tender mercy.
— Pauli Murray, Selected Sermons and Writings