A Commitment to Yield

By Fred Wikoff

“Do we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, and do we accept him as our Lord and savior?”

When we first confess our belief in Christ many of us are not aware that we also make a commitment of lifetime service to him. I was ten at the time. After my baptism I remember feeling clean and pure because Christ had forgiven me. I’d accepted the saved part, repented and vowed to at least try to live a sin free life, but had no idea of the real commitment expected of me.

This obviously is not what Christ intended. Personal commitment is a central part of accepting him as Lord and savior. Christ said, Luke 9:23 Consider also his answer to the disciple who asks to first go and bury his father: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”“Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:60

If this seems overly strict, remember that Christ knows our every need. He knows we must work for a living and take care of the necessities of life. He knows we have families to attend to and that we need to bury the dead. He only asks that in doing so we put our commitment to him first. (See Matthew 6:25-33)

Unfortunately, once I realized the magnitude of the commitment expected of me another all too familiar problem surfaced. I found that no matter how hard I tried to honor my commitment to Christ, I did not get the results I was looking for. I attended church regularly, taught in the Bible school, sang in the church choir, served on the church board and various committees, and did my best to live a sin free Christ-like life, but failed to live up to my expectations. I failed because I did not recognize that my commitment to Christ is not what I do for him, but what I allow him to do through me.

It’s been said that commitment is “persistence with a purpose.” I believe Christ’s purpose for us in this life is that he may be revealed in us. Our commitment to Christ is to let him display his presence in our life every moment of every day. Of course we quickly find that we cannot do this on our own with any true persistence. We need the Holy Spirits continual guidance to succeed.
This is why Christ told his disciples that it was to their advantage that he leave them: “. . . for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:7 “He will teach you all things . . .” John 14:26 and “convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” John 16:8

The Holy Spirit takes much of the toil and worry out of doing Christ’s work if we let him. But this is not easy in a world that values independence and worships a do it yourself take charge attitude. It’s only natural for us to try to control things. And I’ve found that in spite of my good intentions, when I’m at wits end and things are not going as planned, it’s a sure sign that I’ve lapsed back into doing things my way instead of listening to Christ’s direction.

When this happens I’ve learned to stop and make sure that I’m not letting my plans for Christian service get in the way of Christ’s plans. It often means changing my plans completely and humbly letting myself be “transformed by the renewal of my mind” so that I may “prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (See Romans 12:2)

If this sounds difficult, let me say from experience that once we yield completely to Christ, and experience Him working through us, living the Christian life will take on simplicity never before suspected. We commit our life to Christ as a tool to use as He sees fit, the Holy Spirit does the work. It’s as simple as that.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Fred Wikoff writes from Eugene, Oregon. EugeneSpud@msn.com