Total Commitment
By: Kristen L. McNulty
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"I am so slow to commit
I have wasted years on fences…
It's a little disconcerting
Signing up for eternity
There comes a time for throwing caution to the wind
And so my life begins"
Five Iron Frenzy- Kamikaze
Total commitment. In our society we don't often whole-heartedly commit to anything, which is the main reason why half of the marriages end in divorce. But unfortunately, this lack of commitment isn't only occurring in our society. It's also occurring in Christianity.
Look at how many people make commitments to Christ, only to let the fire and the faith die months later. Now while I believe a part of this is because of lack of follow-up, the main fault can be put on a lack of commitment.
But I'm not only talking about a lack of spiritual commitment with new believers. There are some of those who consider themselves mature believers, who after closely examining their lives, could not honestly say that they are 100% committed to Christ. So tonight let me ask you: are you totally committed to Christ?
I'm not asking you if you go to church on Sundays. I'm not asking you if you pray before meals or before bed. I'm not asking you if you attend youth group. I'm not even asking you if you have Christian friends. I'm asking you are you totally committed to Christ?
What is total commitment? It's giving 100% to God. It's passionately pursuing Him and His ways. It's reading your Bible when you could be watching TV. It's finding yourself in church not just on Sunday mornings. It's going through your house and throwing out what you know God wouldn't approve of. It's doing the same with your life. It's speaking up when you would rather be silent. It's standing up for your faith when everyone around you is sitting down. It's getting up to pray when you'd rather be sleeping in. It's reaching out despite the risk of rejection. It's abandoning what you want and obeying what God wants. It's a total surrender of yourself to Him.
That's total commitment. So let me ask you again, are you totally committed to God?
I'm afraid many of us aren't. It is so easy to get caught up in the distractions of life. It is also so easy to get so committed to ministry that we lack in commitment to the one we should be ministering for. So many times we may be consumed with the things of God, but are still only 80 or 90 percent committed to Him. Close, but still shy of 100.
But I am not presenting this to you as a method of discouragement, but rather a challenge to all of us, no matter how much we are currently committed, to get more committed. Lose a habit, spend more time in the Word, get involved in ministry, set your alarm ten minutes earlier to spend time in prayer. Set yourself on a journey to get more committed to God.
But don't fool yourself, this is not an easy task. As much as God wants you to be committed to Him, Satan doesn't and will do whatever he can to throw obstacles in your way. Satan will try to convince you that you can leave one small area of your life unsurrendered to Christ, do not fall for that lie. Christ wants everything that you have to offer. And once you are fully surrendered and committed to Him and His purposes God will move. As one wise believer once said: "The world has yet to see what God can do through a man who is fully committed to Him." There is truth in that statement. Isn't it time you let your life reflect it?
This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.