“So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it” (Philippians 3:15-16 The Message).
“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.'”(Matthew 4:19 NIV84).
I have noticed two opposite extremes in our generation concerning commitment. The first is a real hesitancy to commit to anything. We see this in many areas, but one of the most obvious is our generation’s fear of commitment as regards marriage. Men, especially exhibit this lack of commitment when they expect to live with a woman and experience all the benefits without the responsibility of a life fully devoted to one another in a marriage covenant.
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 apostle Paul points us towards how we might determine what these commitments should be. He talks about keeping a “focused” and “total commitment.” This involves asking God to give you a “clear vision” to know how to totally commit to a few important 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:
- A commitment to celebrate God’s Son (He calls us to “come” to him, leaving behind our own priorities and worshiping him with priority).
- A commitment to connect to God’s people (He calls us to “follow him,” not a religion or a list of commandments, but to himself. He calls us to a relationship with him and his disciples).
- A commitment to contribute to God’s kingdom (He calls us to an adventure, to be “fishers of men,” making the proclamation of God’s kingdom our life’s pursuit).
There’s real power for life-change in making a few focused and simple commitments to Jesus. Are you ready to commit?