Last week I highlighted a seriously goooood quote from the seriously goooood book Extravagant Worship by Darlene Zschech. I loved the discussion that followed and noted that I planned to delve further into the quote in coming weeks. Today, I want to zone in on the first part of the quote:
Jesus grabs ordinary people, people committed to Him, committed to His plan and His purpose, and He uses them….Don’t feel like you are going to miss out. Be faithful, follow after the things of God, be genuine, be passionate in your pursuit, and trust God. (p.180, Extravagant Worship)
Car-shopping scares me not because I don’t like looking at cars–hey, I can get appropriately excited about moon roofs and shiny interiors–but because I know once I make a choice and dish out the dollars, I will be driving that car for a good long time.
Buying a house? It may take an act of God to get me to make that particular commitment. (Either that or a husband to promise me he’ll know what to do if something breaks.)
Commitment. Yeah. Sometimes I’m not so good at it.
But you know what? I think one of the most beautiful, attractive qualities a person can have is commitment. What good is passion if there’s no commitment behind it, right?
Yet, we live in a time when it seems like commitment might be harder than ever. There’s always something new. I sometimes see in myself this hesitancy to commit, a willingness to hold out just in case. What if I find a better church to get involved in, a better deal on a car (and in a cooler color!), a better place to live?
Dude, I can have trouble committing to a drink from the Starbucks menu!
But as I’m writing this, pondering out loud (well, on screen), I’m thinking of some of the most committed people I know–people committed to their marriages, their dreams, especially Christ. And I’m realizing they all have one thing in common:
They’ve stopped looking around.
To be a person committed to Christ, committed to His plan and His purpose, as Darlene Zschech says, I don’t have to be amazing or do amazing things. After all, she says he grabs “ordinary” people. What I do have to do?
Stop looking around.
I can almost hear the Holy Spirit scolding me: “Get it through your head, Melissa. There is no better thing than Christ!” I will never find a better deal, a better desire, a better place to be than with Him.
Commitment?
It simply means getting our focus solely, solidly in place. Because where our focus is, well, that’s where our efforts and our time and our thoughts go.
Am I on the right track? What does commitment look like to you? Do you ever have trouble committing to things?
Comments 21
I have to be sold on something to commit to it. I have to really believe in it in order to support it or follow it. It all depends on what I believe about it, you know? If I’m not sure about it, then I’m a huge wavering mess, tossed by the wind. 🙂
Give me something to believe in, and I am all in…committed and ready to follow all the way.
Yeah I hear ya! Knowing what to commit to can be half the battle!
I think it’s especially difficult to do in our line of work, but noble when one perserveres with determination. Respectworthy!
~ Wendy
Perseverance is a total must, isn’t it!
Commitment means sticking it out even if you don’t want to. We’re drilling that into our kids now. They start a program like Karate or piano, and then decide they don’t want to do it any more because it’s time consuming and they’d rather do well…nothing. But we don’t let them quit because they said when they started that they meant to finish. (Not sure when quitting time is but they haven’t learned enough.) When you commit, you follow through until it’s finished. 🙂
That’s an awesome lesson to teach your kids!
I’ve always been pretty good at commitment, almost to a fault. I get tunnel vision and can’t see the forest for the trees. It’s interesting, because you can even do this with serving the Lord. You can get so focused on this ministry or that ministry, and forget that your commitment is to a relationship. To your Lord. To who He is, not what you do for Him or in His name. All that to say, I guess, that we need to remember what we’re actually committed to.
Such a good point, Lindsay!
My coffee commitment isn’t hard–dark roast every time. I recently searched and researched farms for 6 months before narrowing down on one to buy–and then did commit. For me, covering the base thoroughly and seeing what I’ll get in exchange for commitment is what makes the difference. And most of them turd out pretty well.
Hehe I definitely have a coffee commitment too!
I can tell you what commitment looks like in one word: Gwynly. Seriously. My guy is commitment personified. He’s been there for me through good days and bad, days when I was a lot of fun to be around, and days when I wasn’t. He’s there for me today, and I can rest in the assurance that he be there for all our tomorrows. Yes, I’m blessed, and I know it.
Oh what an awesome thing to be able to say about your husband, Keli!
Hmmm. Committments. I am excellent at following through with big committments. My relationship with the Lord, my marriage, my children, my home, my friendships, caring for extended family, making big purchases, all of those I am eager to sign up for. I love the consistency of those committments and the idea that God has given me the privelege to be a part of them and I know He has equipped me for them, as well. But the smaller things, like piano lessons, sports & activities for the kids, various volunteer committments, diets, exercising, etc. are harder for me to see through. Those are the things that I have an easier time saying: Um, not today, I don’t feel like it – because the consequences of not following through with the little committments don’t hurt as bad as not following through with the big ones.
I tend to over commit myself and that’s when I get into trouble. I need to find some self control in this area. Sometimes I think I can do it all. But I need to make sure the big things are taken care of and within my abilities and then add the little ones when I know I can see them through (except exercising and eating better – those I just need to do all the time – I should put them on the “big” committments list in my mind).
You are not alone with over commiting! Even smug my sometimes-fear of commitment I still find myself taking on too much at times! Common malady!
Melissa, you are so awesome. Your words minister to my soul from the inside out.
And you minister to my soul. 🙂 You rock!
Commitment in concept is a beautiful thing.
In reality?
Commitment means getting dirty. Messy. Staying for the long haul when you want to walk out the door — and slam it l-o-u-d.
It’s staying true to you word when what you said is the faintest echo …
It’s believing God when you don’t understand what He’s done or when it doesn’t look like He’s doing anything.
Amazingly awesome definition, Beth.
Also amazingly awesome…the fact that I’m sitting next to you as I type this. 🙂
Commitment…loving when the new wears off…loving even when we don’t like…commitment is a choice.
Oh yeah…when the new wears off. 🙂
Great topic Melissa, and it all does start spiritually: God asks for us to commit, but what is our response?
I have always enjoyed history and reading the insights of military leaders. One negative theme that is almost always present is when a leader fails to commit. If one stands on the fence and indecision rules the day, opportunities are missed and losing will likely be the outcome.