Monday, October 10, 2016
517 - Fear of Commitment
Spirituality Column No. 517
October 11, 2016
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
October 11, 2016
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
Fear of Commitment
By Bob Walters
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” – last words of dying Jesus on the cross, Luke 23:46
All of us know, or at least we should know, that God’s
forgiveness and grace are part of a package deal: the divine treasure trove
known as the “free gift of salvation.”
This gift is billed, rightly for the most part, as being
“ours for the asking.” We are not
commanded to accept the gift nor is the gift forced upon us. It is clearly laid out in the Bible that
faith in Christ which is from the Holy Spirit unwraps this gift of salvation,
and that good works are the worldly fruit of it having been accepted and put to
use.
It’s a good deal.
Peace, patience and mercy; faith, hope and love; perseverance, kindness
and joy … all in the long list of humanity-deepening fruits we can enjoy in
this life by accepting the loving embrace of God by trusting Jesus Christ.
And "Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so."
There. Wasn’t that
easy? No worries!
So why cite this Bible verse from humanity’s darkest day,
the day Jesus died?
Because it communicates a key truth of a key component of
our salvation. To truly own the gift
it’s not enough merely to accept it; I have to do what Jesus did on the cross. I must commit my spirit into the hands of God;
but in this life, not in my death.
This is key because it is the difference between
accepting Jesus as Savior and accepting Jesus as Lord. Jesus as Savior is what He does for me; the
happy face of forgiveness and eternal life.
Conversely, Jesus as Lord is what I do for Him. And you know what? I can’t do much for Him. None of us can; because He can do
anything. The hard part of “Lord” isn’t shouldering
a load; it is defeating our pride, accepting humility and trusting faith.
It’s a game-changing mistake to miss the “Lord” part,
where we put our lives, our love and our industry into His hands. It’s where we discern God’s calling, attend
to God’s purpose, love God, love others and trust God’s Lordship even unto
death. You ask, “What would Jesus
do?” Well, that’s what He did.
To review:
- “Salvation is a free gift?” Absolutely.
- “Jesus loves me?” There’s not a truer idea in the
Bible.
- “All I have to do is accept it?” That answer is “Yes, but …”
Here is the "But" - accepting the gift only starts the journey; committing to
the gift and living a life of faith actually is the journey. Savior is the start and Lord is the path.
God’s glory is the goal.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that while the four
Gospels report three different “last words of Jesus” (Matthew 27:46, Mark
15:37, Luke 23:46 and John 19:30), “commitment” is the last word in most strong
relationships.
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