Commitment
December 31, 2000
Dear Friends:
It has been said that you can’t steal second base and keep one foot on first base. In other words, progress takes effort and risk. In one word, it means commitment.
As we enter the new year, we might look take this time, as people often do, and make resolutions for the coming year. In examining our spiritual lives, we might wonder why we have progressed no further than we have and what we have to do to move forward. It is a fact that Jesus requires us to move forward. In Luke 19, Jesus tells the parable of the nobleman who gave his servants different sums of money to invest. Jesus says “…it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.” He goes on to condemn the man who had not gained anything but simply kept his money hidden away and idle. Keeping a gift as precious as the Gospel hidden and ineffective is nothing less than sinful.
The teaching of this parable for us to move forward for Christ. Put his gift to us to work. Steal second base so to speak. Take the risk. The rewards are infinite.
Perhaps our problem, if we have one, is one of caution. The risk seems too great. Perhaps we haven’t taken seriously enough the admonition to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…” (Matt. 6:33)
The Scriptures are clear in several places just what level of commitment and risk are required. It is no less than total devotion. “…present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom 12:1) The perceived risk is much greater than the actual risk, however. “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;).” (Heb. 10:23,24) As one brother phrases it, we must have faith in God’s faithfulness.
So I will leave you with a couple of verses to ponder. While reading them, think about your commitment for the new year, risk versus reward and especially in God’s faithfulness. “Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” (Matt 19:29)
“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt. 10:37-39)
Have a great millennium!
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