Commitment and Faith to Christ

COMMITMENT & FAITH

A few years ago my nephew was diagnosed with terminal cancer, yet such was his faith that he refused to give up all hope, determined to be an inspiration to others. I stories about people who won’t give up because people who remain committed, even when the going gets tough, are a source of great inspiration.

Jesus inspired many to follow Him when He was here on earth, yet sometimes people would decide that they wanted to follow Him without realising what the cost would be. Whilst on the way to Jerusalem, where Jesus knew He faced persecution and death, a man approached Him and told Him that he would follow Him wherever He went. Jesus replied to him that foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. (Luke 9:58). The decision to follow Jesus is one that requires total commitment. Jesus must always come first in your life. The decision require more than dedication, for total commitment means determination, regardless of what the cost might be. What Jesus was saying to this man in effect was that if he chose to follow Him the path would not be an easy one. There would be difficulties along the way. There would be days when he would not know where he would sleep that night, or know where the next meal was coming from. There would be times of discouragement, yet real commitment means that you keep looking forward.

If you start out on the journey which is the Christian Life, and then quit when the going becomes tough, then you risk being ridiculed by some and a source of discouragement to others. In the Book of Hebrews, chapter eleven has been referred to as ’Faith’s Hall of Fame’, listing as it does the heroes of faith who died without receiving what they had been promised. These are those who make up what is referred to in Chapter 12 as the ’great cloud of witnesses’, whose faithfulness is a great source of encouragement to every believer. When we think about them and the struggles that they faced and overcame, we realise that we do not have to struggle alone, neither are we the first to struggle with the type of problems that we face. Many others have run the race before us and won. Paul urges us to Run in such a way as to get the prize and points out that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize (1 Cor. 9:24). If we are to claim the prize then we must shed everything that would slow us down, and run the race with only that which we need for the journey. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (12:2). Facing death towards the end of his life, Paul writes to Timothy that I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). We too must complete the race set out before us and keep the faith, and then we too will know, as Paul did, that there is a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing (2 Timothy 4: 7).

Just as the great heroes of faith still continue to inspire us, we can strive to be the inspiration for others. When we consider Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Paul and all those whom we read of in the Bible, and the great encouragement that they are to us, we can also think about those people who encourage our faith today. Together they make up the cloud of witnesses who encourage us when we are discouraged, who help us to build up our faith, to refuse to give up just because life is hard, or to quit over the difficulties that we face. There are many people who encourage me in my ministry, and without whom I would be the poorer for their absence. Whenever I’m tempted to feel discouraged I remember that I am being held in prayer by them, and that serves to lift me once again. Their faith inspires me, and I, in turn, do all that I can to be an encouragement and inspiration to others as well.

The writer of Hebrews says that we need to be prepared for the struggles that we will inevitably have to face, and he tells us to ... throw off everything that hinders. There are many things that we hold onto from our past that create a burden for us to carry through life if we refuse to let them go. Whatever the burden is we need to let it go once and for all. Bitterness from past relationships will rule us if we harbour them, and they block out the opportunities to enjoy a full relationship with Christ. Sometimes the burden will be an unwholesome attachment to possessions that stands in the way of our being an effective witness, and it may be that we need to shed some of our possessions as well. Whatever serves to distract us from the race set before us needs to be removed from our lives if we are to complete the race and win the prize.

Of course, the one great burden that can cause us to fall at the first hurdle is sin. The writer of Hebrews refers to the sin that so easily entangles us in verse 1. Sin is like a climbing vine that curls around us, entangling us in its grip, and if it’s left unchecked, increasing and increasing until it strangles us altogether. It’s when we cut ourselves free that we are left to run the race. I remember times at school when we set out on a cross-country run. Some boys would race off at the start only to run out of steam early and fall by the wayside, whilst others would pace themselves and conserve their energy for the final sprint needed to finish in a good position. Many Christians run the Christian race like those boys I mentioned, starting off full of promise only to run out of steam along the way and fall back altogether before the finish line. Sometimes, even though we have got on well for a time, we reach a point where we feel like giving up, and that’s where we most need to heed the words in Hebrews to run with perseverance the race marked out for us. We are not left alone, for we have the Holy Spirit as our running companion, and it’s the power that the Spirit gives that enables us to win. To live effectively we must keep our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, and not on ourselves or on our surroundings. If we allow ourselves to be distracted then we will stumble and fall. The race is a race for Christ’s benefit, not for ours, and we must keep Him always in sight. Notice what the writer of Hebrews says, Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, & sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary & lose heart.

No matter what opposition He met with, and no matter how much He was persecuted, Jesus carried on, obedient to His Father’s will until He had completed the race and claimed the prize. When we hold on to this fact then it will encourage us to be the same. How easy it is for Christians and even whole churches to throw in the towel and quit because it has got difficult to carry on. How easy it is to give up and say that you don’t need the bother any more, that you don’t have to do this or that any more, yet the Bible urges us to go on, no matter how tough the going gets. We must focus on Jesus and do all for him, because one day we will stand before Him as our judge.

Romans 3:23 says, There is no difference, for all have sinned & fallen short of the glory of God. One day we will all be called to account before our judge, and we will have to have an answer for everything that has occurred in our lives. Will we be found guilty of neglecting our faith or will we be presented with a crown for our faithfulness? If you were brought before a court on a charge of being a committed Christian and of sharing the Gospel, would you be found Guilty, as charged or would your case be dismissed through lack of evidence?

The only hope we have is found in Jesus Christ. Without Him we have no hope in eternal terms, and that is why we must never turn our eyes from Him. Run the race with patience, and don’t lose heart. Don’t become discouraged. Don’t quit. Keep on running the race that has been set before you until, at the end, you can stand to claim your crown from Christ Himself.