“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.” –Deuteronomy 6:5-6
The most rewarding commitment we make is to give ourselves fully and wholly to Him. In the Gospels (Matthew 22:37-38, Mark 12: 29-30, and Luke 10:27) Jesus gives us the greatest commandment: to love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your strength. God wants our love – first and foremost. We discussed yesterday how commitment is belief in action. If we love God wholeheartedly with all of our being, our commitment to Him will be evident in our actions.
Here are a few ways to stay fully committed to Christ:
1. Faith check.
Evaluate where you are in your faith and/or ask a trusted friend to participate. This could be done daily, weekly, bi-weekly; you’ll know when it’s time for a faith check. In a journal, jot down where things are going well and what needs improvement. Reflect on the ‘needs improvement’ points and then make action steps to improve them.
2. Relinquish all control.
There are many needs that come with daily life we can worry about and attempt to control. These needs include material needs (home, transportation, clothing), as well as physical, emotional, and relational needs. Being in a committed relationship with God is relinquishing all of the expectations we place on these needs. We are giving up human control for God’s divine control because we know He is all-powerful, all-knowledgeable, and fully capable to meet all our needs.
3. Continuous learning.
When my husband and I began dating we were in the “getting to know you” phase. We learned about each other’s families, hobbies, goals/dreams, and our favorites (food, music, vacation spots, and so on). As we continued dating, became engaged and got married the learning hasn’t stopped. The same holds true for our commitment to God. We can learn so much about who He is by reading and mediating on the Word. God is multifaceted and there is so much to learn about Him.
4. Seek forgiveness.
Following the three previous commitment suggestions, doesn’t mean we’ll be committed to God flawlessly. We’ll struggle with sin, but that doesn’t mean we let sin get the best of us. They don’t render the commitment we have made to God null and void. Jesus died on the cross for all sin and He knew everything we would do long before we would do it. Confessing sin to Him and wholeheartedly seeking His forgiveness is a necessary component of being committed to Him.
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