Commitment

Before taking off in an airplane, all pilots understand the necessity of commitment. There is a point on every runway, depending on the airplane, where I know that if I reach that point, I am committed to taking off. It’s based on the airplane takeoff speed and distance of the runway, and I calculate that when I do preflight planning.

But some Christians are commitment averse. Maybe because Jesus warned us about the seriousness of vows, some Christians refuse to make commitments. But they are wrong…and doomed to failure. 

Consider just a few Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 6:6 – “You must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these…”

Deuteronomy 11:18 – “Commit yourselves completely to these words of mine.”

Deuteronomy 30:20 – “Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and commit yourself to him, for he is your life. Then you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors…”

Proverbs 16:3 – “Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.

Psalm 37:5 – “Commit your way unto the Lord, trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass.” 

Making commitments is not only Biblical, it’s also vital for any kind of success. “The road to realized dreams and accomplished intentions has been left unpaved for lack of commitment.”

If you ever want to get something done, you have to start with a commitment, a decision to do it. As John Beecher said, “Strength is a matter of the made-up mind.” 

Imagine a pilot who is unwilling to commit to the air. He’s either a pilot that doesn’t fly, or a dead one! I know that as I’m speeding down a runway, and I reach V1 speed, I’m committed to the air. 

Unfortunately many church people have never gotten off the ground, spiritually. They have been sitting there gunning their engines, making noise but getting nowhere. They have been planning on it, meaning to, wanting to, trying to, going to, aiming to, hoping to. But tragedy of tragedies, they have never gotten off the ground.

That is why the climax of this BEYOND series culminates with this special service where we all together make deliberate commitments as to the tangible gifts we will pledge in order to expand our Gospel outreach.

We have spent time appreciating what God has done in our church and in our lives... analyzing what is truly important to us and doing our best to determine God’s vision for our church. We have prayed and listened to His guidance regarding our personal participation in this campaign. Now it’s time to thoughtfully commit our own resources to do what God has for us to do.

I’ll never forget the commitment services of our past, weekends that have shaped our church into what it is today. Many of us look back at those weekends as pivotal, not only for our church, but for our own personal spiritual lives. 

This weekend at The Bridge will be one to remember!