Involved or Committed

Brian Dumas - Elder

James 1:14,   What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?  

There is an old saying you may have heard that portrays the difference between being involved or being committed.  It uses the illustration of ham and eggs whereby the chicken is said to be involved by merely contributing the eggs.  The pig however, is committed in that it wholly and irrevocably becomes part of the meal.

We live in an age where commitment is frequently sacrificed in favor of keeping our “options” open.  It enables us to avoid commitment, but it sends mixed signals to those who wonder what we really believe or where we stand.  As a Christian, that might even call into question whether or not our commitment to God is sincere.   Knowing about Jesus is one thing, following Him in all things is quite another.

A Christian writer named C.S. Lewis viewed faith in God as a commitment – a commitment to that which we believe is true.  It is quite different from an un-informed “leap of faith” into an emotional set of feelings that may or may not result in a transformation of our life.  Commitment has the idea of carrying the individual between a beginning and a destination with certainty.  Ideally, that journey is best portrayed by a straight line that connects the beginning to the destination without wavering.  In reality…it may have many movements away from the direct pathway, but commitment will always cause a return towards the destination. 

As a believer, we need to ask ourselves whether we are truly committed or just involved.  James 2:26,   “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”  If you are truly committed, it will result in some form of action or service on your part evidencing your alignment with God.  When you look at your faith, do you see someone who is truly committed, or just involved?  Is your faith that of a spectator, or of a player?

We all will have movements away from our commitment path, but God is faithful to provide us what is needed to restore our walk with Him.  Proverbs 3:5-6 - “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

The world offers many appealing distractions that challenge our commitment to God but remember; 1 John 1: 4 tells us that we can have victory over those distractions, “…because one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

Prayer

Father, I want to be committed to you and not be just involved as a spectator.  I pray that your Spirit will transform me into the likeness of Jesus and that reality would be evidenced by what I say and do.  In Jesus name I pray.   Amen.