Commitment

How many people today take seriously the commitments they have made? A bride and groom stand before a minister and vow to love each other until death, but how many today keep that commitment? On the campaign trail, politicians make promises, but how many really follow through after they are elected? What about Christians? Do we keep the commitment we made at baptism? Christ told his disciples, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

In a world where commitments are not taken seriously, it can be easy to lose sight of what we promised God when we were baptized. Christ mentioned three things that are required of us. We must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him.

Hold nothing back

What did Christ mean by requiring His followers to deny themselves? World College Dictionary defines deny as “to do without desired things.” We have to be willing to sacrifice everything to live God’s way of life. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac to be obedient to God shows how far we must be willing to go in fulfilling our commitment to our calling. God tells us throughout the Bible that we are to love and honor our parents, to love our children and our brothers and sisters, but in Luke 14:26 He tells us that He must come before any of them: “Jesus said, ‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.’” We must even be willing to lose our own lives if need be, as some of our brethren who have gone before us have done (Matt. 24:9, Heb. 11:36-37). What if it means we may be alone at times, not having brethren to fellowship with? Is obeying God more important? Part of the commitment we made before God was to put Him first, above all, and to be willing to forsake all for Him.

What did Christ mean when He instructed each of us to “take up his cross”? He went through tremendous suffering for us, and as part of our calling we must be willing to suffer as well—even wrongfully—to be persecuted and endure grief in serving and following God. This is not easy. We like to be liked by others. But Christ tells us, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18).

Christ is the example

The last part of Christ’s statement in Mark 8:34 is “follow me.” What did He mean? Just prior to Christ’s arrest, He knew the pain and suffering that He was about to endure, not for any wrongdoing on His part, but for you and me and all of mankind. In Mark 14:36 we see the attitude He had even under this tremendous stress: “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” We must all have this same attitude and commitment. Christ also set us an example of putting God first each day: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35). He rose up early in the morning to pray, to thank God and to ask God for strength and guidance. Do we take the time to pray first to God even though our lives are hectic and busy? Are we committed to this, realizing how vitally important it is to have this continued contact with God on a daily basis?

There may be times when this commitment seems overwhelming or too hard to keep. In Matthew 19:26 Christ says with men (our own strength) it “is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Peter then asked, “We have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (vv 27–28). Our commitment to God will bring eternal life in the future and many wonderful blessings in this life now.

Abundant life, abundant blessings

In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Satan would like to do anything to keep us from having the abundant life, but Christ came so that we could be delivered from Satan. We can have our sins forgiven when we repent. We can change with God’s help and begin living God’s way of life. Proverbs 29:18 tells us “he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Satan has deceived the world into believing that the law of God is bondage and that they don’t have to keep the commandments, but the truth is that by obeying God we avoid the penalties that sin brings. One of the biggest blessings that comes when we strive to live God’s way is that we can have an audience with the power of the universe, and he will listen and intervene for us and help us through the difficulties: “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers: But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (1 Pet. 3:12). David also learned, “I have been young, and now I am old: yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread“ (Psa. 37:25). We have some difficult days ahead of us, but it is comforting to know that God will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). And during the time of trouble that is coming on this world, which Daniel 12:1 describes as a time like no other, those who are committed to living God’s way of life and obeying him are promised protection (Rev. 3:10).

Being committed to God and his way is the narrow and difficult path, as Jesus said in Matthew 7:14. It is not the easy way, it is not the way the majority wants to go, but it leads to life—the abundant life now and forever in the Kingdom of God. Are you committed?