Commitment

Last Friday, we talked about commitment. This was very influenced by a message I recently heard at Harvest Bible Chapel. There is a passage in Luke 9 where Jesus deals with commitment with three different guys.

The first guy approaches Jesus and says, "I will follow you wherever you go" (v. 57). It doesn't seem like a bad opening statement to make to Jesus for several reasons: 1) The guy recognized that he is the follower. 2) He knew that Jesus was the one he should be following. And 3) The guy said he would follow "wherever you (Jesus) go." And what is Jesus' response? At the end he says "...the Son of Man has no place to lay his head" (v. 58). Basically meaning that it will be difficult to commit to the statement he just made.

Jesus Christ approached the second man and said, "Follow me" (v. 59). This is different than the first guy. The second guy's response in verse 60 is up for debate. Was his father dead yet? Is he actually referring to his father or implying something else? Whether or not his father is involved is not the main point. The main point is that he was place something else more important than following Jesus. Jesus addressed this in his answer in verse 60.

Like the second guy, the third one place something else (in this case, positively his family) as more important than following Jesus (v. 61-62). Commitment. That is something that not a lot of people, atleast here in the U.S. like to do these days. Pastor MacDonald at Harvest compared it to a flame. It's not what starts the fire. Professing your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and in His redeeming work on the cross is what starts the fire. Commitment is more like adding some alcohol or tabasco sauce. As long as it's there, it will really make the fire huge and burn bright. It reminds me of a few of Jesus' other teachings about light and being a city on a hill.

This is true whether one is talking about their commitment to God, family, friends, or any group or team. It is my prayer that we may apply it to every important area of our lives.