Commitment

Commit yourselves to the LORD (1st Samuel 7:3).

We live in an age of commitment-free relationships. People lease cars rather than buy them. People live together without getting married. People attend church without becoming members.

People act this way because they are afraid of commitment. Why get tied down to one car when a better model might come out next year? Why get tied down to one partner when you can’t be sure how long love will last? Why join a church when you have to go through classes in order to join, and the members expect you to contribute some of your time and money to the fellowship?

Commitment-free relationships; the whole idea is ridiculous. How can a relationship exist without commitment? The basis for all relationships is trust. If you can’t trust your car to start, you sell it; if you can’t trust your spouse to stay faithful, you get a divorce. Trust is essential for relationships; trust means that you can rely on someone to be there when you need them. Trust arises from a commitment to be there when it counts.

People enter relationships because they want commitment. Would you willingly buy a car that is untrustworthy? Would you willingly live with a person who cheats on you? We want security from our relationships; we want the peace of mind that comes from a commitment you can trust in.

The real problem is, we want to have it both ways. We want commitment from others, but the freedom to walk away for ourselves. However, if you want the freedom to leave whenever you want, sooner or later you will be badly hurt when someone else walks out on you. Without commitment, no relationship can be counted upon to be there when you need it most.

Jesus is committed to you; His hands shed blood because of His desire to hold you forever. But in order to build a lasting relationship with you, the Savior calls you to make a commitment to Him in return—a commitment to spend time with Him in worship, time with Him in prayer, and your active membership in His church family. A relationship with the Son of God requires commitment—but it is a relationship that you can always rely on.