Just How Committed Are We?
Hebrews 10:28-29 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. (29) How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
For the 48 or so years of my SDA service to God I have committed approximately 10% to Him; sometimes more, sometimes less, but I can honestly say that I have never given Him my all. I’m speaking here of time, not money, God does not need my money, it’s all his; it is my time He cannot have unless I give it to Him.
Jesus gave it all for us. He did not hold back anything. If He were as committed to His duty as I have been to Him, He would have called down those legions of angels to Gethsemane and walked away from the whole world.
Christ offered Himself a sacrifice for all mankind because He loves us, always has, always will. If we love Him then we in turn must sacrifice everything for Him. How deep truly is my love for Him? 10%? 50%? 90%?
When a carnal human recognizes Jesus as his Savior and commits to being a Christian God expects and deserves 100%. Without that total involvement we can have no expectation of entering His Kingdom.
His free offer of eternal life with Him is an ‘All or Nothing’ covenant. He expects from us our total devotion and obedience. I am not serving Him and cannot serve Him if I only ‘tithe’ my time and thoughts to Him. 10% or even 90% is not what He asks of us. God wants all of me, not just the time I can spare after doing all my other ‘important stuff’.
This is not something to be taken lightly. He gave us an example of how to live for our Father God. If we are committed to Him it has to be absolute surrender to His will and his service.
The modern Christian world’s concept (and I sadly admit that I thought the same way all my life) of serving God, being a Christian, is to go to church more or less regularly, take part in church activities and pay 10% (or whatever I can after other expenses) to the church, and even try to share bible studies occasionally.
I now know it is so much more than that. God wants our whole heart and 100% of our time and thoughts. Anything less and we are only fooling ourselves, acting out a part like people in a movie or a play; pretending to be someone we are not.
Recent devotion to study of God’s plan for my life has shown me that I can only serve Him if I do it with my whole heart, soul and being. Yes, we have all read those texts that tell us to do that very thing, but have we ever done it?
Christ’s disciples after Pentecost did not spend time, money or thought on vacations, politics, potlucks, homes or the latest social fads. (It was the Pharisees who had the many religious rituals and regulations.) They sold all they had, placed it in a common fund and devoted their entire time to teaching others of the love and salvation offered freely by Christ. Consequently the world learned of Him and Christianity spread like wildfire.
They did all this amidst severe persecution but never turned back. Christianity grows the most under persecution, but we in this age and country have become apathetic and mixed the world’s views into our brand of religion of peace and prosperity. It is time for true believers to stand up and speak up, doing God’s work of sharing the Good News of Jesus our Messiah regardless of what others may think.
When Christ does return for His faithful few and brings judgement for all mankind, He will reject so many who think they are saved because they put on a false robe of self-righteousness, not His Robe. I am no longer satisfied to be in that number; I ask you to join with me in devoting every thought, word and deed to serving the one true God and His only begotten Son Jesus, our Savior and only example.
Pray for and encourage one another in our walk with Jesus. “Let your light so shine!”