Commitment

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses only results.”

  A young man walked into a photography studio with a framed picture of his girlfriend. He wanted to have the picture duplicated. This involved removing it from the frame. In doing this, the studio owner noticed the inscription on the back of the photograph:

  “My dearest Tom, I love you with all my heart. I love you more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever. I am yours for all eternity.”

  It was signed Helen and contained this P.S.: “If we ever break up, I want this picture back.” Apparently, Helen wasn’t completely committed to that relationship and had already planned for the back door. 

  Certain characteristics are so intrinsic to Christianity that to neglect them is to be a walking oxymoron, a Christian without commitment is an aberration. Much of what’s considered committed today in the Church is not what we find in the Bible. Being committed is much more than just showing up for a worship service, giving a few bucks and going home. So, what does it really mean to be committed follower of Christ?

  Several passages in the Bible define commitment. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31: “I die daily.” You’ll never meet a committed Christ-follower who doesn’t die daily to a host of things that would seek to have a grip on him or her—personal ambition, worldly pleasures, people’s applause, greed. This culture ferociously maintains that “you can have it all” but such thinking is foreign to the mind and teaching of Christ. Even though we live in the midst of a very different culture than that of the New Testament, our Lord’s call to commitment hasn’t changed. There are things that we must die to, walk away from, and give up. Jesus’ repeat of the Jewish Shema in Luke 10:27 to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind” means that we need to obey God’s Word and order our lives in such a way that we can live in the constant awareness of His presence.

  Included is to love others (our neighbor). The Apostle John connects the dots with this question: “How can you say you love God yet hate your brother?” (1 John 4:20). Today hate is “normal.” Too frequently, a hateful attitude spills over into the Church. But the Bible makes it clear that devotion to Christ includes being loving and at peace with others, particularly brothers and sisters in Christ. As Christians, we must take Matthew 5:23-24 (the need to be reconciled with our fellow believers before coming to God) very seriously. Relational integrity is to be a priority. It demands that we pro-actively seek reconciliation whenever a problem arises and obediently follow the steps of Matthew 18:15-20.

  Commitment means adhering to Jesus’ teaching on the use of time, talents and treasure. God wants first place not after someone has spent forty plus years devoting their time and talents to the marketplace. Scripture says, “Seek first the kingdom of God” “Always abound in the work of the Lord,” or “What does it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul?” It takes a lifetime to develop personal spiritual disciplines—Bible study, prayer, giving and serving. Commitment requires us to invest the time in fellowship and community. It means seeking to advance the Kingdom in practical service and sharing the gospel with family and friends. Those commitments are yardsticks evaluating our devotion to Christ.

  The Christian life is about death to self and allowing the Spirit to live through you. The greatest fulfillment never comes from getting but from giving. There is an immeasurable joy that comes from giving yourself to Christ and sharing your life with others. There’s something about seeing a younger brother or sister grow in grace that gives an un-matchless pleasure but you’ll never discover this apart from commitment.

  I learned commitment by watching my adopted parents (Dave & Mary Cummins) care for his aging mother in their home. I’ve seen it when a family provides hospice for a cancer victim. It’s a custom often forgotten today, when such care is frequently subcontracted out.

  Our world knows very little of commitment. Even the Church has often jettisoned commitment. Yet, by abandoning commitment, our narcissistic culture has lost the one thing it desperately seeks: joy. Without commitment, our lives are barren and sterile. Without commitment they lack meaning and purpose. Because if nothing is worth dying for (the anthem of the ‘60s anti-war protesters), then ultimately, nothing is worth living for. With commitment comes fulfillment and flourishing—of a personal calling, of marriage, of the Church—and our very hearts. It's the paradox Jesus so frequently shared when He urged us to come and die so that we might truly live. 

  James Calvert was a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands. When he and his fellow missionaries landed on the island, the captain of the ship that brought them attempted to get them to turn back. “You will die, the men with you will die, if you stay here.” he cried. And after a moment Calvert replied simply, “We died before we came here.”

  Our world wrongly says that life comes from living it up and living for self. The evidence of such flawed reasoning surrounds us. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, Jesus urges us to trust Him and come, and die. It’s only as we take up our cross and die to self that we begin to live in His resurrection power. It’s total commitment. It’s what Paul meant when he wrote, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). It’s only by first dying with Christ that we live in that “gain” of the fulfillment of His resurrected life now. Commitment is the first step to real life.   

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Disciples or Followers?

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ‘Tis the difference between the lightning bug

and the lightning.”  Mark Twain

  Even a single word has the power to move people forward or backward. Using the right words can inspire, embrace, acknowledge, intrigue, validate, and include others in a godly, positive way.  A word, even only one word, can make a vast difference.

  Picture this scene: You’re in the checkout line at Walmart and it’s very crowded. A big snow storm is coming and everyone is in a hurry. You have fifteen items in your cart and can’t wait to go through the line to get home. Someone though taps you on the shoulder and says, “Can I go in front of you? I only have seven items and I’m in a hurry.” Just picture your response.

  Now, picture the same scene. Again a tap on your shoulder with the same question, “Can I get in front of you because I just got a call from the school nurse that my son is sick. I only have seven items.” Which scene is more likely to change your behavior and motivate you to move aside?

  Social psychologist, Ellen Langer tested this type of situation and discovered that adding that one word because made a major difference. She tested this in many situations. When you add because, and a reason, people are more apt to do what you request. The bottom line – one word can make a big difference.

  Last Sunday we announced that we’ve changed one word in our purpose statement. Previously our purpose statement said: Grace Church exists to glorify our Heavenly Father by continually making more disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Recently, our church leadership decided to change one word. We’ve changed “disciples” to “followers.” Why? Why did we believe that this was an important change? Because “followers” denotes forward movement as you follow Christ. You can’t follow without moving.

  So, are we splitting hairs? Perhaps a bit. Yet, we live in a day when many profess to be Christians and would be very comfortable with the label “disciple,” yet never grow, change or move spiritually forward.

  Many Christians think that being a Christian simply means that you call yourself one or are associated with a certain church or denomination. At most you attend church regularly, give financially and occasionally serve.

  The New Testament teaches that being a Christian is to be life-altering. It’s to be nothing short of a personal revolution. While the New Testament does teach that we should faithfully attend worship services and be a member of a church, one can easily be part of a church without having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Every week professing Christians go in one door of their church and leave the same way. The tragedy is that they’re the same person that went in. True worship means that there is life change. A “disciple” could do their religious thing each week with no forward movement. A Christ-follower could not.

  Because of our focus on education in American culture, often we’re satisfied with teaching and even learning the right things. A disciple can be content to be a student. In fact, our churches are filled with those who have heads brimming over with biblical facts. But God does not want us to be just learners. As James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

  Many Christians are little more than professional students. They know so many facts about the Bible and about God, but there is little or no life change. One can’t be a follower without life change.

  A Christ-follower is described for us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.” If you’re a Christ-follower, there will be clear changes. C. S. Lewis wisely said, “If conversion makes no improvements in a man’s outward actions then I think his ‘conversion’ was largely imaginary.”

  In other words, a Christ-follower is to both be with Jesus and be like Jesus. We spend time with Jesus as we read the Bible, pray, worship with fellow believers at church. Authentic, growing Christ-followers are always focused on spending more and more time with the Lord, letting His Spirit guide our study of His written Word, spending time in His presence in worship, spending time in prayer.

  Following means that it changes both our thinking and our actions. Because we are Christ-followers we respond differently to the inevitable trials and tribulations of life. We know that there are no accidents and that our Lord is Sovereign. As Christ-followers, we’re empowered and resist temptation in its various forms.

  A Christ-follower is someone who lives out exactly what Jesus taught in Matthew 5-7 in the Sermon on the Mount. Christ followers strive to be merciful, peaceful, forgiving, compassionate, strong in their faith, honoring the commandments, praying for their enemies, giving to those in need, constantly in prayer, free from worry and not filled with judgment.

  Jesus didn’t call us to wear a tag like “Christian.” No, He called us to become followers of Him. It’s easy to be labeled a “Christian,” because you go to church, or are pro-life, etc… Too often Christians are known for what they’re against. A Christ-follower though is known for who they are because the fruit of the Spirit is seen being produced in their lives as described in Galatians 5:22-23, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”

  When Jesus said to His disciples, “Follow Me.” These two words contained radical implications for their lives. That’s really what it means to be a Christ-follower. It’s to live a life that a lost world would call radical. It’s selfless and sacrificial and stands in stark contrast to a self-absorbed world. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer so powerfully wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” That’s what it means to be a Christ-follower. It’s a death to self to follow the living Lord. Being a Christ-follower not only means to know Jesus and know about Him, it means to let His life flow through us so that we live like Jesus. Grace Church exists to glorify our Heavenly Father by continually making more followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.