“…till death do you part” -- Words often heard in a wedding ceremony.  No doubt, the affirmation of these words is sincere when spoken on this special day, but sad and unfortunate it is that sometimes the words are discarded as easily as out-of-date clothing.

Do you remember how excited you were when you first met Jesus?  You just knew that this was the best thing that ever happened to you (and it was!), but life took some twists and turns that you didn’t expect and could not foresee.   Little by little, you drifted away from that wonderful feeling of “knowing” Jesus as life sped by dropping trouble, trials and tests in its wake. 

Sometimes after a cold war, couples awaken to their mutual love and decide to live up to their commitments and rediscover the intimacy they once shared and realize they don’t want to lose each other.  This, too, will require commitment; because life still happens.

The same with a lukewarm Christian.  One day they awaken and realize just how far they have slipped away from the comfort of the Holy Spirit as they went about their troubled life trying to make it on their own.

Romance:  Excitement, love and adventure (of the kind found in such literature).

Never has literature produced a love story as great as the one God wrote!  To discover the romance of His Book, we must meet the greatest ‘Hero’ of all times around whom the Book was written—Jesus Christ, God’s Only Begotten Son.  When we meet Jesus, we have connected with a commitment that cannot be severed by life or death.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38, 39).

It is God’s good pleasure to please us.  He will do things our way as long as our way is according to His will.  Consider to what lengths He went to redeem us.  No greater love could romance us.  He intended for our commitment to last for eternity, tied to Him with an everlasting covenant far greater than any on this earth.  Covenants made here on earth will be broken when one of the participating parties dies.  The covenant we have with God is eternal will never be broken by Him.  We may walk away from it, disdain it and even despise it; but He remains faithful.

Trust is essential in a relationship for it to be functional and satisfactory.  Trust is not a gift; it must be earned.  God has shown Himself to be faithful and trustworthy.  Are we?  Someone has said, “There is no other reason why we should live on than that we love and are beloved.  Without that, the ‘energy of life’ has failed.”  May I venture to say that the single most important motivation we have is to love and be loved.  Love is the greatest motivator we have, and it is what makes commitments work.  Trust begets love.  If we are motivated by fear, it’s a heavy burden to carry; but when it is by love, it creates its own glow in our lives.

When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we became a new creation—“all things become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  New attitude, new motives, new relationships, new destination.  This new person can love himself and love others, because he is beloved by God and infused with His ‘agape’ love.

“I was a nut

in a tired paper bag

until Jesus cracked

my shell and salted me

and tossed me to the world

to make it thirsty

for Him.”

……Eloise Hatfield; San Bernardino, CA

(Quoted in Decision)

The Lord ‘cracked (convicted and saved), roasted (made palatable), packaged (prepared for service)’ and gave us to the masses who need to know about Him.  As they learn about and accept Jesus, we are ‘eaten’ (our lives used for His sake) by the needy, thirsty world.  A fractured world is looking for love and Someone and Something they can put their trust in.  May we live so they can see the love of Jesus and His trustworthiness  in us!

Let us keep the “Romance of Commitment” alive and vibrant, remembering that we have positional sanctification because of what Jesus did for us and progressive sanctification because of His work in us, making us worthy and useful in the service of our Beloved.  We are not left alone to flounder and fail; we are made worthy to be a part of this commitment because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Jesus had His eyes on the “joy of the cross” (Hebrews 12:2) during His earthly ministry and would not be distracted.  Satan tried desperately to stop His ministry by deceitful testing, and not being successful in the wilderness, he tried to kill Him.  But until it was God’s time, nothing could stop Jesus from fulfilling His mission.  He had an unshakable commitment.

“Christian love and commitment is made of the lumber of the cross; it increases when you give it away.  Commitment will involve waiting—long, painful waiting—the thing we do least well.  But that is part of our necessary training.  Always there will be the danger of turning back, of reconsidering, of abjectly crawling off the altar of sacrifice.” (Author unknown to me)

If you feel you have let your hand slip from holding your end of the commitment, know that God is still holding up His end.  Personal failure does not erase a person’s calling.  He is waiting for you to return, repent and re-enter the “Romance of Commitment” that you once had with Him.  Don’t be influenced by negative forces.  Renew your fellowship with Jesus and go forward.  You are ready when God says you are ready.  Pick up your cross and follow Him.  He knows the way to fulfilled commitment.

Why wait?  Why not return today?  Renew your commitment.  He is waiting!

Semper fi (“always faithful”)

~~Delores~~