%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%>
Our Commitment Level To
God
“Commitment: 1) the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself;
2) a pledge or promise; 3) engagement; involvement” (dictionary.com).
Do you value commitment? Sure you do! We all expect 100% commitment from others
when we are on the receiving end. We expect commitment (and results) from the
postal person for our mail and the power company for our electricity. If they
fail to deliver, we question their “level of commitment” to high
standards!
What about when we are on the giving end? Do we require the same high level
of commitment from ourselves as Christians? Do we sometimes tolerate a mediocre
faithfulness to God. Isn’t strange how we expect a greater performance
level from our mail person than from our personal commitment level to God!
God’s Commitment
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how
shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) How
would you describe God’s commitment to your salvation? Absolute. Never-ending.
Dependable. God fore planned and expected His only begotten Son to endure torture
and crucifixion to obtain your salvation and forgive-ness of sins!!!
Think about it! God “is for us,” “nothing shall separate us,”
“able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask,” “is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us,” and is working
to make you and me “blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus” (Romans
8:31,39; Ephesians 3:20; 1 John 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Engaging oneself. Promise. Involvement. These definitions are descriptive of
God’s level of commitment to you and me.
Jesus Christ’s Commitment
Jesus. His name resonates the universe with commitment and dependability. He
is our ultimate example -- “though he was in the form of God...emptied
himself... taking the form of a slave... humbled himself...obedient to the point
of death...on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8, NRSV).
Who? He did it for you.
Why? He was committed.
What? Our salvation. Rescue us from Hell. Our newness of life. Jesus was committed
to the mission “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
We may ponder “What did commitment cost Jesus?” God tells us the
painful and gory details in the gospels. He was accused, mocked, slapped, beaten,
scourged, laughed at, exhausted, and hung on a tree for six hours one Friday.
He chose the nails. He chose to die for our sins.
Committing. Engagement. These define the Son of God’s commitment level
to you and me.
A Christian’s Commitment
What is our personal level of commitment to God and Jesus? Total? Lukewarm?
Bottom-of-the- barrel? Sometimes the Devil convinces us that somehow we get
to decide our level of faithfulness and service to God. Like a little round
temperature control knob in the car, we decide to turn “up” or“down”
our commitment level. Whatever feels CONVENIENT to us. Whatever makes us feel
COMFORTABLE.
Now we should ask: When was it convenient for God to let His Son be killed?
When was it comfortable for Jesus to be nailed to the tree for our sins? We
know the answers. Genuine commitment is not about what is easy or undemanding.
It is not about what “I want to do,” but “What does God expect
me to do.” Now that’s commitment!!!
“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple...whoever
of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27,33).
Jesus only accepts total commitment. As Christians, you and I are His disciples.
We follow the King. We serve the Master. All of our time, energy, money, and
possessions must be committed to His requirements.
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). The
nature of the word “commitment” implies “Total,” not
halfhearted, halfsouled, etc. It will be inconvenient, but that is when we demonstrate
what our commitment is made of ! Let’s decide to increase our commitment
level! Engaging oneself. Involvement. Do these describe our personal “commitment
level” to our Great God and His Son?
by Luther Pratt
Return to the General Articles page
Home / Bible studies / Bible Survey / Special Studies / General Articles / Non-Bible Articles / Sermons / Sermon Outlines / Links / Questions and Answers / What Saith The Scriptures /Daily Devotional / Correspondence Courses / What is the Church of Christ / Book: Christian Growth / Website Policy / E-mail / About Me /