Commitment

As seen in the HEARTbeat and the Village Voice

“Commitment”

            Let me start out with a little levity question: are you committed, or do you need to be committed?  Of course, I’m referring to the mental institutions of old where people were committed to a facility to assist them with mental health issues.  But in considering this question, people who entered such facilities were being committed per se, they were asking to be committed to a process!  I once told a person with whom I was counseling and visiting to commit to the process and there would be light at the end of the tunnel.

            So, what does it mean to be committed?  What are the areas in our lives that we, as the old saying goes, “Go all in?”  And is there a time of the year when we are more in the mindset of committing than in other times?  The answer to that, as you already know, it the beginning of the year.  We make New Year’s resolutions to begin new improvements in our lives.  We resolve, or commit to exercise, eat better, or maybe stop an unhealthy habit.  If we are halfway committed, those resolutions fall to the wayside with a month.  But if we are wholly committed, we stay resolved in our endeavor, and we reap the benefits from it.

            Another undertaking in our lives is marriage.  Did you know that just fifty percent of all modern-day marriages make it!  That’s right.  Half of all marriages end in divorce.  There are a multitude of reasons, but I think they are all rooted in a lack of being fully committed to the spouse.  When I visit with couples in pre-marital counseling, I tell them marriage is not a 50/50 endeavor.  Marriage is not a compromise.  Marriage is a 100% give, and then not expecting anything in return.  I get looks of hopelessness when this premise finally sinks in.  But I go on to explain giving 100% of yourself to the marriage means you are fully committed to it.  And when both husband and wife have this level of commitment, nothing can break them apart.

            We commit to a lot of things, some half-heartedly and some with all we have.  Is your relationship with God and Christ one with you committed with everything you have?  Like a marriage, when only one side is completely committed, the relationship suffers.  When a relationship suffers, it is not reaching the fullness it is intended to be.

            God had a relationship with Adam and Eve which was one of fullness, until Satan got them to doubt God’s instructions.  The two came to a point in the relationship where they were not fully committed, and sin entered the world.

            God wants to have such a relationship with us whereby we are fully and whole-heartedly committed.  He loves us with all of His being, and so much He gave us everything He had.  He gave 100%!  God gave us His only Son to die for our sins so we, He and we, could have a committed relationship.

            God is ready to give us 100% of Himself to us.  We can only receive it when we resolve to be 100% committed to Him.  With that in mind, how will you make today different?