THREE SIMPLE COMMITMENTS

^“18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹ And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” (Matthew 4:19 ESV).

I have noticed two opposite extremes in our generation concerning commitment. The first is a real hesitancy or even the fear of actually committing to anything. Some psychologists attribute this to what they call, “the paradox of choice.” The paradox of choice suggests that an abundance of options actually requires more effort to choose and can leave us feeling unsatisfied with our choice.

I have to admit to feeling this “paradox of choice” when I stand in line at a new sandwich shop with the cashier impatiently waiting for me to decide. I’m overwhelmed with all the many items on the menu board. How am I supposed to commit to a choice between the “Cackle Croissant” and the “Salami Slapstick,” or the “Turkey Tease” (Sandwich shops have the funniest names for their menu items)?

The other extreme that I’ve observed is a tendency to over-commit. This person says “yes” to everything. They commit themselves to so much that they are unable to fulfill any of their commitments. The net result in some ways is similar to the first extreme. Committing to everything is like committing to nothing. Making real commitments that we actually keep means we have to say “no” to lesser things.

The call of Jesus gives us the foundation for all our other commitments. He called his disciples to a simple, focused commitment to follow him. Looking at his call in Matthew, there appears to be three simple commitments implied in this following of Jesus:

1. A commitment to His Person. He calls us saying, “Follow ME” His call is not to a religion, but to a relationship. It’s not to a philosophy, but to a person, the person of Jesus Christ. Leaving behind our own priorities and worshiping him with priority is the first commitment.
2. A commitment to His people. Notice that Christ’s call was to be one of His disciples. You can’t follow Jesus without hanging out with His disciples. He calls us to be members of His family.
3. A commitment to His purpose. He calls us to an adventure, to be “fishers of men,” making the proclamation of the Gospel our life’s pursuit and purpose. 

There’s real power for life-change in making a few focused and simple commitments to Jesus. Are you ready to commit?