COMMITMENT
In the last days, persecution, suffering and pain will increase in
varying degrees, and these will be accompanied by physical upheavals and changes
in the world. In the face of all these, what can contribute positively to enable
God's children not to falter? Here, the one significant factor that must be
resolved in the lives of God's children is the issue of COMMITMENT. Commitment
to the Lord is vital during such times. It is commitment that will see God's
people through, no matter how hard the going might be, whether it be through
persecution, pain or suffering. In the midst of uncertainty, dangers and many
changes and fluid situations, it is commitment that would make the essential
difference.
Commitment involves a crisis decision and stand. There ought to be a time
in the lives of God's people when they make a definite stand and decision to
follow the Lord wholeheartedly and knowingly. By "wholeheartedly", I
mean that every aspect of the life is surrendered to God without reservation,
knowing full well that we are serving a good and perfect Master who desires the
best for us. And by "knowingly", I mean having counted the cost and
realising the full implications and consequences of following the Lord and
turning our backs to the world, we still make the definite decision and choice
in our lives to follow the Lord Jesus. Just as we take a definite step to accept
the Lord Jesus as our Savior and become believers, we ought also to take a
definite step to commit ourselves totally to our Lord and Master, forsaking all,
taking up the cross and following Him. Has there been such a definite crisis and
decision in our lives? Or are we still vacillating and not making up our minds,
wanting the world and yet wanting the Lord as well?
Commitment involves love; it is not just a mental decision. It involves
the whole being. It is, in one sense, an expression of our love for the Master.
This aspect is clearly shown and expressed in Revelation 2:1-5. All the various
deeds and activities, coupled with perseverance, may not amount to anything
worthwhile if we have lost our first love for the Lord. Love is not necessarily
measured by the amount of activities and deeds done. I remember an old lady who
is staying with her youngest son. She is diabetic and rather ill, requiring much
attention and care. The youngest son attends to all her physical needs lovingly
and also takes time off to bring her to the doctor. All the other children would
come by occasionally with various gifts and errands done for her. Yet, in her
own words, she felt that it is the youngest son who loves her although the
others may be prepared to undertake certain activities on her behalf. When it
comes to the crunch and her real needs, it is the youngest son who is quietly
present to meet her needs with care, tenderness and understanding. All the rest
may come along rather boisterously with many words of advice and activities, but
none, it seems, among them, is willing to be counted upon when she truly
requires their assistance. God is not so concerned with what we can do for Him
as much as whether we love Him. And love means also identifying with Him and
appreciating His deepest longings. Love does not shrink back when it comes to
suffering for the one we love, and
love certainly is not ashamed to stand by the one who is loved.
Some time ago, I met an old gentleman at a clinic. After his
consultation, he asked me the direction to
go home. I was rather concerned whether he could reach home on his own as he
appeared rather weak and was walking with the aid of two walking sticks. So I
asked whether he came to the clinic on his own. To my surprise, he told me his
son brought him to the clinic but had left him there alone and expected him to
go home on his own. I then asked him whether he would want me to call his son to
bring him home. He hesitated. When I asked again, tears came to his eyes and he
expressed that his son was ashamed to be seen with him in public as he was
rather old and incontinent, not being able to control his bladder, and his
clothes were often soiled and dirty. He went on to share how miserable and
dejected he felt, having a son and yet not having one in reality; for all
intents and purposes, his son treated him as a stranger. What he shared with me
remains in my mind. Love means not being ashamed of the one we love. It means
the willingness to identify with the one we love. The old man cannot help being
incontinent. His bladder control had failed him. A retarded child is not to be
blamed morally for his retardation. True commitment involves love. What is the
quality of our commitment to the Lord? Do we indeed love Him; are we truly
identified with Him and not ashamed to be called His child?
Commitment also implies daily outworking and decisions along the line of
our commitment. Although commitment involves a crisis decision, it also involves
making small and big choices along the way and perhaps this is the more
difficult part of commitment. Many a child of God may well remember the time
when he or she made a definite commitment to follow the Lord, whatever it takes,
but somewhere along the way, this major decision may have been well forgotten
and the daily encounters and choices of life
eventually take on a character that it is so very different from what the
original commitment meant. Somehow, the implications of the commitment become so
faint and the issues of the day loom so large and so urgent that God's children
choose and respond like people of the world. The affairs of the world,
the business of making a living and the hustle and bustle of life for the busy
housewife, the pressured student and the up-and-coming executive - all these
seem so real and demanding that the child of God forgets what it means to be
committed to God. And so the daily choices are made in favour of what matters
most for the moment rather than what means more in the eyes of God.
Many a time, the problems we encounter in our Christian life have their
roots in the meaning and consistency of our commitment to God. When we say we
have no time to read the Bible, it often means we are not prepared to miss our
favourite TV programme. When we say we cannot afford time to attend a Christian
meeting, it often means we are not willing to give up our badminton game for
that day or our round of golf or whatever it might be. And so ultimately, it
boils down to our priorities, to what really matters most to our lives. In our
declaration of our commitment to the Lord, we say that we are willing for Him to
be the Lord and Master of our lives. But when it comes to daily outworking, it
is an entirely different matter!
Here I am reminded of the story of a lady surgeon. She was a paediatric
surgeon and worked very long hours. She had to be on call regularly, and at odd
hours of the day and night, she might be called upon to operate or to review
emergency cases. At the time of her training, when she was busiest and most
committed to her work, she became interested in a man, with a view to marriage.
Soon she found that her work became affected and before long, she was called up
by her superior and questioned about her commitment to her surgical training
programme. Her answer was, "I have a life of my own to live too." The
superior replied, "Go ahead and live your life but drop out of your
surgical training programme. We require and demand the best, not only of you but
also of ourselves." So even in the secular realm, commitment means doing
what is required of you, and for the surgeon in training, it means availability
at odd hours for operation, emergencies and not being late for ward rounds and
medical meetings. She had to make a choice at that point of her life - was she
still committed to be a paediatric surgeon?
Unfortunately, for many of God's children, commitment to the Lord does
not mean daily outworking and choices. We give only bits and pieces to the Lord
and carry on as if we were committed. Does not He, who made the eyes, see our
state and condition? Wherein is our commitment? Where indeed is our heart?
True commitment to the Lord would also mean a growing identification with
the perspective and values that God holds regarding issues of life on earth as
well as eternal issues. This ought to be seen in the way we make our decisions
in life as well as in the pursuits of our lives. It is starkly inconsistent if
we say that we are in agreement with how God looks at an issue and yet, in our
outworking, we choose and pursue that which is the very opposite of what we are
supposed to uphold and believe in. We say that what matters is what God thinks
of us and not the views of men and yet, we get so very upset when we are
misunderstood by men or looked upon in a degrading manner. We declare that we
trust in a God who answers prayer and a God who cares and desires the best for
us and yet, in daily living, we get so easily bogged down by anxiety, fears and
apprehension, living as if we are a people who have no hope, no peace and no
God.
In such a state, it is no wonder then that when persecution or suffering
comes along, the child of God easily breaks. In the context of the last days
when the degree of persecution and suffering increases, then there is very
little room for optimism for many of God's children whose commitment to God
remains as a question mark.
When there is true commitment to God, there is loyalty and faithfulness
to Him in varying and changing circumstances. No matter how difficult it is and
how long it takes, the true child of God would endure in faithfulness and in
steadfast loyalty. The winds of change and uncertainty and the onslaught of
persecution and pain cannot move such a one as this.
We can recall the picture of true commitment in the lives of David's
mighty men. Against overwhelming odds, in the face of death and danger, they
stood their ground and achieved victory. A deeply committed Christian does not
easily bend in the face of adversity.
Adoniram Judson, a Christian worker to Burma, endured untold hardship to
reach the lost for Christ. For seven heartbreaking years he suffered hunger and
privation. During this time he was thrown into prison and for seventeen months,
he was subjected to almost incredible mistreatment. As a result, for the rest of
his life he carried the ugly marks made by the chains and iron shackles. Upon
his release, Judson immediately asked for permission to enter another province.
The Burmese ruler angrily denied his request saying, "My people are not
fools enough to listen to anything a Christian might say but I fear they might
be impressed by your scars and turn to your religion." Judson's scars
remain as a testimony of his commitment to Christ and the gospel.
The great Christian leader, John Wesley, knew the value of having
committed men. He said, "Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin
and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world." Yes, indeed the
church needs committed men and women of God. When the goings get rough and
painful, who can we depend upon? Who can God look to, who continues to be
faithful and trustworthy?
We started by considering what we can do to ensure that we stand in the
last days. We saw two areas we can nurture and cultivate - our character and our
commitment to the Lord Jesus. A godly and wholesome character can withstand all
the negative influences and pull of the world and still remain intact in the
Lord. A true and deep commitment to God would remain steadfast and unwavering,
despite all the pain, suffering and persecution that might come along.
Remember, character and commitment take time to develop. Let us not be discouraged by our failures along the way. Instead, let us make sure that our direction of life is correct and with God's grace and enabling, we will see definite progress in our lives and development.