Committed

We’ve been reading missionary stories in our house again lately.  They always have such a big impact on us.  We read about people facing gun fire, starvation, unfriendly soldiers and they continue to stand firm for Christ.  They didn’t back down or run home.  Even if it meant death.

I had also recently read a story about a pastor in Iran that was scheduled to be executed for his faith.  This kind of stuff doesn’t just happen in missionary story books.  There are people all over the world giving their lives for Christ.  Risking their freedom to attend church.  Willing to go to jail to bring God’s word to others. 

Here in America we have access to Bibles, churches, websites, podcasts.  We have the freedom to worship and share Jesus with others.  And what do we do? 

We whine because we get home late on Sundays.  We’re hungry.  We might miss the kick off of the football game. 

We don’t want to commit to helping out at church because it might tie us down.  We want to be able to sleep in or go out of town on weekends. 

We don’t take time to read the bible but we spend hours a day reading blogs, Facebook and twitter.  We watch hours of TV or movies, but can’t give an hour a week to serve.

We leave a church because we want our needs to be met.  Maybe we even get a little from different churches.  We like the music at one place, youth group at another, and Bible study at yet another.

I have people tell me that we are just a busy culture.  People are working more.  People are running more.  But isn’t it a busy we choose?  We don’t have to work nearly as hard at surviving as people used to. 

We are busy chasing around.  Trying to do more things, please ourselves, make more money so we can buy more things. 

And all of a sudden no one has time for God.  Or church.  

Church attendance is certainly not the end all or be all of being a Christian.  But God calls us to serve. 

“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:28

To share. 

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.  Luke 10:1-2

To commit.

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life  will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.  Mark 8:34-35

If we just take from churches without being committed to them, how will their ministry continue?  How will they accomplish God’s work?

If we live selfishly and only squeeze God in when it’s convenient for us, are we really following Him?

Is Jesus Christ something you believe in or just another activity on your list?  I probably won’t be asked to die or go to jail for my faith.  But can I die to myself and be committed to Him? 

When we have the desire and make the choice to commit ourselves to Him, He’ll give us the strength to do it. 

I want to live my life in a way that reflects the passion of the missionaries in our book.  I want to be fully committed to Him.  And if everyone else falls away, Lord, give me the strength to keep standing.