“An irate parent phoned her little boy’s Sunday school teacher. ‘Is it true that you told all the kids that they were crazy?’ she demanded. ‘No, I didn’t’, the teacher replied, ‘but I did tell them they should all be committed.’”¹

The above quotation presents a two-fold problem: 1. Some words (like committed” have a dual meaning that can beget confusion! 2. We do need more children and adults who are committed to Christ and His church!

Over two decades ago, George Barna warned us of a dangerous trend: “In the process of redefining what counts in life, many of us have decided that commitment is not in our best interests. Traditional concepts such as loyalty and importance of membership in various groups have been thrown out in favor of personal interest and self-preservation. Church membership figures have been declining for the past decade because people are not willing to restrict themselves by such commitments.”²

We must not forget that in our efforts to follow in Christ’s footsteps (I Pet. 2:21), that He “loved the church and gave Himself up for it” (Eph. 5:25; Acts 20:28). Brother or Sister, remember His love for, and loyalty to, the church the next time you hesitate to get to Bible class on time; the next time your mind wanders as you sing, “all to Jesus I surrender”; as you think of other things rather than “do this in remembrance of Me” (Lk. 22:19), while partaking of the Lord’s Supper; as you delay again to go see and share with someone His eternally redeeming story of salvation; as you absent yourself again from some good work in the church; as you consider absenting yourself again from the moment when the Lord’s family is assembling for worship or study.

As you “try your own selves” (II Cor. 13:5), does your spiritual meter show a high level of commitment (I Cor. 15:58)? As someone noted, an ounce of commitment is worth more than a pound of cleverness!                                 

¹ Albert M. Wells, Jr., Inspiring Quotations, Thomas Nelson Publisher, Nashill, #526, p. 44.
² George Barna, The Frog in the Kettle, Regal Books, Ventura, California, 1990, pp. 33-35