Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Whatever happened to that kind of commitment?

Did you know that professional golfers hit hundreds of golf balls a day and thousands of golf balls a week? When I think of that, my initial reaction is "Man, I would love to be able to do that!" But when I really think about it. I like to hit some balls at the range, but not hundreds of them at a time. In fact, the range bores me. I would much rather go out and play a round than hit 125 five irons. I'm not that committed. But I am amazed at how committed the pros are on the tour. Hitting 5 iron after 5 iron for hours. Chipping and putting for hours. All to maybe get one stroke better at the next tournament. It takes an amazing commitment to be a PGA tour pro. Then the more I read I begin to understand that the older the golfer gets, the more he has to work out and hit balls. His natural ability slows down a little and he has to make up for it by getting in shape, maybe even changing his shot a little, all little adjustments to keep himself competitive. His commitment level has to rise to a whole new level in order to remain competitive on the PGA tour.
I wonder what would happen if we could be that committed in the things of our lives. Not just our jobs and hobbies, but also things like our marriages and discipleship.
I wonder what kind of husbands and wives we could be if our commitment level would rise the longer we remained married. What if our devotion to each other and to the family actually increased over time? If we worked at the basics of selfless love, respect for one another, and unconditional love for our spouse each and every day. If we looked for new ways to honor our spouse and love them even more than we have in the past. If we didn't worry so much about how we were being treated, but instead practiced serving and loving our spouse over and over again. I wonder what would happen to not just our immediate family, but also our kids families and our grandkids? Did you know, that what you are doing now in your family will effect the next 5 generations? Pretty big responsibility isn't it? Do you have that kind of commitment?
Finally, I wonder what would happen if our commitment level to the things of Christ rose every day of our lives. If instead of getting into a rut in our life as a believer, we became a disciple of Christ. What if we actually went from believer to disciple? A follower, an imitator, a worker for the cause of Christ. When we take on the commitment level of increasing our involvement with the things of God, He truly then becomes our Lord. Lord means He's our master. He makes the rules of our lives. He decides how and where we are to live. He decides how the time and money of our lives is used. He decides. I wonder what would happen to our communities, our churches, and our world if we raised the level of our commitment to being a disciple, not just a believer, but a follower...I wonder? Do you have that kind of commitment?
I wonder what happened to that kind of commitment?
Take care,
Rod

2 comments:

  1. If all christians took these words to heart the divorce rate among christians would plummet to an all time low!
    Good words, Babe
    Gay

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  2. I absolutely agree with Gay. I for one know that I can always improve on my commitment levels in all areas of my life. And it saddens me that there is such a thing as a "divorce rate among Christians".

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