On Commitment (Part 1 of 3)

What does it mean to commit?
To commit means to give of yourself. Commitments can be made to things, such as art, music, technology, science, fashion, animals, orchids, etc. It can also be made to a person or groups--family, friends, batch mates, classmates, fraternity/sorority, boss, loved one, etc. Whatever or whoever you commit to, the fact that you did means that you love him/her/it so much and feel so strongly about them, and you are willing to give them time, effort, resources--whatever is necessary, whatever it takes for you to show that love. You want to have everything related to it, do everything for the sake of it, and be everything that particular person, idea, or cause you are committed to requires you to be. You are passionate about it. You focus all your energy on it. You are even driven to the point of obsession for it. You live for it.

I'm sure by now you already have something, or someone, in mind. Is it a sport? A hobby? There's no way for me to know right now. I can only guess. And I wonder how many of you are thinking about God as being the one you're committed to.

Commitment is a pretty famous concept in the Christian community and is one of those commonly used terms as part of the Christian jargon. We have phrases like, "committed Christian," "commitment to God," "Father, we commit to You this day," and such. Most of us, if not all, may even be using this phrase in our daily life--perhaps when we pray before a crowd, give a testimony at church, teach during Sunday school, or write on our journals. But I wonder, again, how many of us really understand and grasp the idea of a commitment in terms of our relationship with God.

In one of my devotions, I came across a short description of the disciples in Acts. In Chapter 5, it says that "...they were highly regarded by the people" (v.13, NIV). People knew that they were Jesus' disciples, and they were recognized as followers of Christ even if the people themselves were not believers.

Consider the following:

• If you see a person walking down the street, say, just an average-looking guy, there is no way of telling what he does for a living. I mean, maybe his clothes will give you a clue--like he could be wearing a shirt with the Starbucks logo printed on it--but you can never know for sure where he is employed, and if he even is, just by looking at him. For all you know, the shirt he's wearing could be just a souvenir shirt or a hand-me-down or a gift.
• Take a professional basketball player. How many people would normally think of those big guys as people who actually wanted to be preschool teachers or gardeners or chefs and even studied for it?
• In a room full of students wearing their school uniform, can you tell which of them is the smartest in class or has the highest grades without checking the records?

See, people don't always know and can't always tell who other people truly are based on how they look on the outside. Usually, in order for us to really know someone, we look into how they live their lives, what they devote their time and energy to, what they spend their money on, who they hang out with, etc. I think that's what happened with the disciples during the days of the early church. They were just ordinary men, neither rich nor popular to start with. But their lives so reflected faith in God and love for Him that even those who didn't actually believe in God eventually decided to follow Him. In their commitment to God and the fulfillment of His will, the disciples were able to bring nations to the saving feet of Christ, because they lived their lives with passion for Him. It just couldn't be missed! And it became contagious.

As Christians now living in the 21st century, we know that the world is quite a lot more complicated than it ever was. Many of us think, "It was easier to live for God then that it is now. People didn't have cellphones, the Internet, television, malls, amusement parks, and all the stuff we have today. There weren't so many distractions." You think? Well, I don't. It wasn't any easier then. What, with all the persecution the early church had to go through in the hands of hypocritical leaders of the synagogues and ruthless, powerful people of position (like Paul had been)--it is actually a blessing for us, especially here in the Philippines, that we have the freedom to choose our religion and practice our faith, a privilege that not every country enjoys!


I do agree, however, that this world we are now living in abounds in distractions that destroy our perspective of life and make us too preoccupied that we forget who we're supposed to be and what we're supposed to do. Churches are dying because people would rather watch the newly-released movie or join a marathon or just stay at home and rest after "a hard week's work" rather than have fellowship with one another and worship the Lord together. Christians are spiritually stagnant, and our spiritual health is deteriorating because we don't spend time with God AT ALL. Is He still in the picture? Where is God in our lives right now? Are we choosing this time to neglect Him, this time when it's starting to feel like the end is near?


(To be continued...)