Jump Start # 1230

Psalms 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.”

  Commit, what an interesting word. A high school athlete will commit to a university to play ball for them. Signing documents to purchase a house, taking out a loan, commits a person to that sale. When a person is mentally unstable they often have to be committed to center that will evaluate them and help them. And then, of course, there is that commitment in a relationship that changes from dating to being married. Zack, my fellow preacher, and I have recently given a couple of lessons about dating. There is that old song that we used to tease others with that goes, “First comes love, then comes marriage…”

Dating is fun. It’s hanging out with friends. It’s movies and going out to eat. It’s spending time with that special person and realizing that they are really special. It’s finding out that the opposite sex is different in a good kind of way. Part of dating is breaking up. Lonely hearts. Sad songs. Looking at photos. Wishing things could be different. Then as one gets older, dating is about getting serious. It’s more than movies and holding hands, it’s seeing if there is a future with this person. It’s seeing attitudes and character and heart. Then, if all goes right and well, comes a commitment. Promises made. Future planned. A wedding. Vows. Commitment. This is part of life. This is the journey from boyfriend and girlfriend to husband and wife. Married folks aren’t supposed to act like they are single. They are responsible and accountable to one another. Some folks who are married want to act like they are single. It generally gets them in hot water, and it should. They made a commitment.

Our verse today tells us to commit your way to the Lord. Become responsible, dependable and accountable to the Lord. Just as with boyfriend and girlfriend, some folks want to simply date God. They like God. They like being around God. They like how God treats them. They feel good around God. But they don’t want a commitment. They are not that serious about God. They want to go to church services when they feel like it. They want to pray when it’s good. They even like reading the Bible and sitting in classes where the Bible is taught. They like the fellowship of the church family. There are a lot of upside positives about being around God. However, they don’t want to be tied down with God. They want to be able to skip church when they feel like it. They want to be able to still stick their big toe in sin now and then. They don’t want to completely give up the party life that they have lived. They don’t want to dump God. They are not walking away from God. They want God, but only when they feel like it. What has happened is that a huge segment today wants to date God but they do not want to commit to God.

What does dating God look like? From a distance, it looks pretty good. On some Sundays the daters will be in church services. They will show up now and then for classes. They may come to the home of others about their age. They smile. They look nice. They are friendly. Things seem to be going well. They know enough to hold their own in conversations with others and they feel pretty good about their faith. It’s a happy religion for them. From the perspective of the church, it’s a different look. They see the daters as coming and going. No one knows which Sunday they will show up. Generally, you can be sure that they won’t be there in bad weather or around holiday times, unless mom and dad are in town.

But something seriously is missing in the daters relationship. They have not committed themselves to the Lord. They are fooling themselves. Like a single person who acts like he is married, he’s not. There is a commitment that needs to be made to God. It begins with obedience in baptism. That’s big. Jesus said to do it. The apostles preached it everywhere. Baptism is crossing the line between dating God and making a commitment to God. It’s admitting that you need help from Heaven. It’s recognizing that you have sinned and need forgiveness. However, baptism alone isn’t all there is.

Committing to God involves letting the word of Christ dwell within you. It is being led by the Spirit. It is crucifying self and inviting Jesus to run your life. Paul said, “it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.” That’s a statement of commitment. There is no going back. It’s being sold on God’s way. It’s throwing your lot in with those who are journeying to Heaven. It’s more than attendance, but it includes attendance. It’s an attitude, an outlook and a way of life. It is understanding that I am a Christian all the time. It’s time to get the big toe out of sin and kick Satan in the teeth. It’s letting your light shine at work. It’s being honest and generous as Jesus was. It’s forgiving others when you have been crushed by them. It’s a total re-wiring of your heart and mind. It’s putting a stake down in the ground and then holding your ground for Christ. Commit to the Lord. It’s taking the Bible seriously. It’s making serious changes in your life for Christ. It’s wanting to be in Heaven. Commitment. It’s not holding out for a better offer, it’s realizing that this is the best offer. It’s making your mind up that you want to want to follow Christ, all of your life, all of the time. It is saying yes to Jesus. It’s making promises to God and then keeping them.

Commit to the Lord. Stop dating God. Stop serving God on your terms when you feel like it. Stop being a fair weather Christian. The daters skip through life doing well, until the storms come. They always come. The loss of a job. A child that messes up. A marriage that unravels. A parent dies. The dreaded Cancer word. Then all the smiles are gone. Then it’s time to rely upon that deep foundational faith in Christ. It is that faith that weathers the storm and keeps the house standing as Jesus said. But wait, the daters of God don’t have that kind of faith. They never fully committed themselves to the Lord. They were playing around with God and the world. They followed God went they felt like it. They know God from a distance. They have not gotten real close to the Lord. Now, when they need Him so much, they really don’t know Him. Now, they don’t know what to do. It is here that things start coming apart. Doubt, fear and worry fill their hearts. The daters begin to question and even blame God. It is here that their relationship with God often ends. They drop off and out of sight for good. The very things that they need and can help them, they turn their backs to. Their happy little lives become a nightmare. Alone and afraid, they crumble under the burden of problems.

How do I know this? I’ve seen it way too many times. Stop dating God and make a commitment. Commit yourself to the Lord. His way. His terms. His life. His will becomes your will. His words, your words. His way, your way.

I fear that our churches are full of daters. It’s time to commit to the Lord.

Roger