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You’ve heard it said there’s no such thing as a free lunch. That sentiment is pretty much on target, except of course for the free salvation which Jesus offers us because he paid the price for our sins. It is free for those of us who accept his offer, but he paid a big price. He made a huge commitment when he said to God, as he prayed in Gethsemane, “Not my will but thine be done.”
I’ve been talking all week about finding freedom through commitment. Instead of running away from being committed to something or someone, we need to walk toward those commitments that God wants from us. That’s because committing ourselves to do God’s will is the pathway to real freedom, the freedom of our spirits, the freedom of knowing what we do matters to God.
For ten years I decided to run my own show and go for what I wanted. In spite of knowing better, I truly turned my back on following Jesus because I thought that would mean I could never have my way. But let me tell you what my pursuit of freedom led to. It caused me to abandon many Christian principles, which had been faithfully taught to me by my parents, teachers and pastors. It led me to live a very selfish life that was totally focused on what I thought was good for me.
Deciding not to be committed to what God wanted for my life caused me to make many poor and sinful choices—choices about relationships, about jobs, about where I lived and who were my friends. It led me to behaviors that were anything but Christ-like, to a lifestyle that blended in with the world around me. It would have been hard to distinguish me as a true believer in Jesus Christ during those years.
What I’ve learned—now over 40 years later—is that to refuse to be committed to Christ and his principles for my life is to choose disaster and chaos and total frustration. I thought I was choosing what would make me happy by choosing not to be committed to a Christian lifestyle and living my life for others. But I was so wrong.
Now, with all these years under my belt since then, I can tell you a commitment to Jesus Christ is indeed the way to freedom. And that means you commit your weeks and your days and your hours to his control. It means saying yes to what he wants you to do and no to yourself. Yes, there is a price to discipleship and Jesus asks us to count the cost, but the return on your investment is abundant and joyful and fulfilling.
