The Question of Commitment

What should we be committed to? We should be committed to Christ, that is clear (Romans 12:1,2; Colossians 2:6,7; 2 Corinthians 3:18). But what about other people? We need to recognize we are related to other members of the body of Christ (1 John 4:7-11; Romans 12:3-5; Ephesians 4:3-7). This means being involved in the lives of other believers to help and encourage them (Hebrews 10:24,25; James 5:13-20; Philippians 2:1-11). (We must avoid the attitude of Linus Van Pelt of Peanuts: "I love mankind; it's people I can't stand.") This is not always easy. When you are involved with real people, they can hurt you. They can let you down. But God requires us to take the risk. We should not be like ships passing in the night, knowing people on the superficial level, but never getting involved in their lives. Even less should we take the approach of drifting from one congregation to another, never really committing ourselves to any group of people at a deep level. We should also not confuse this with commitment to an organization, a methodology, or a program. Such things are good as long as they help to reach and build people. But it is to God and to people that we need to be really committed.