The word commitment has lost much of its original definition in the last few decades. What we want to investigate in this post is how to make a total commitment to follow God.
I am assuming we know what the word total means. Therefore let’s commit to reading the rest of this devotion.
And they left their nets at once and followed him. Mark 1:18
In 1982, my wife and I were preparing to go full-time as children’s evangelists. We had a decision to make. Should we keep our apartment or give it up?
We had a hard time deciding. Back then, we were only paying $180 a month in rent. But, for us, that was a lot of money. We sought counsel on what we should do.
The advice we were given was to give up the apartment. There was logic behind that thinking. It was twofold. It was an expense that we didn’t need to continue to pay.
But the main reason dealt with the negative of having a place to go back to. The first time something went wrong, we would be tempted to head straight back home.
We took that advice and never turned back. Our first year on the road was quite rocky, to say the least. We might have been tempted to quit and go home if we would have kept the apartment.
How To Follow God
Different versions of the Bible word that verse with the importance of the disciples’ decision. The Passion Translation says, Immediately they dropped their nets and left everything behind to follow Jesus.
But look what the amplified version says. And at once they left their nets and [yielding up all claim to them] followed Him.
Peter and Andrew, that day, made a total commitment to follow Jesus. It’s like they left their nets on the beach with a sign that said, “Free for the taking.”
This is what the Lord wants from each of us. He wants a total commitment. Does that mean we have to give up our livelihood, our home, and our belongings?
Sometimes, the Lord does ask people to do that. Most of the time though, the answer is no. He is looking for each of us to be sold out to Him. He wants us to be willing to answer any call He puts on our lives.
Let me illustrate what that verse is saying to us. A chicken and a pig saw a sign in a restaurant window that said, “Breakfast—ham, and eggs.”
The chicken said, “Let’s go in and see if we can help.” The pig said, “Wait a minute, all you have to do is contribute. But I would need to make a total sacrifice.”
That illustration is portraying a total sacrifice to God as a negative. It is, however, far from anything negative.
A Total Commitment To Follow God
The question we want to answer is, how can we make a total sacrifice to follow God? Paul says it best in Roman 12
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
When Jesus went to the cross, He made a total sacrifice for each of us. Then He rose from the grave giving us the opportunity to accept Him.
Then we enter His family and we receive all the benefits of being His sons and daughters. Which is the foundation of making a total commitment to following God.
Check out these related posts about commitment.
Lord, help us to keep this in perspective. The sacrifice you are looking for, compared to the sacrificing we think we are doing.
You might like this related post Unashamedly Living The Tough Truths Of The Gospel
You would enjoy reading the cornerstone post on discipleship called How To Be An Effective Devoted Disciple Of Jesus
Read the entire first chapter of Mark.
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Great post! Wish I didn’t eat those cookies this morning.
There really is freedom in being totally submitted to God, because when we do I believe we are living in Truth and we see the world differently. One of my biggest hang-ups – I was my own thinking person, and still am, but didn’t needed to be consumed to the point where my thoughts were not my own. However, we have to lay down our thoughts for His thoughts when they are in contradiction to His Word, for His way and thoughts are higher than ours. We may have to trade some of our thoughts and convictions for His, but when we do we will find ourselves living in Truth, which is unexplainably better!
One question. Did the pig go into the restaurant?
Yes when we are not fully committed to God then we find ourselves in bondage one way or another. I don’t know about the pig, I only saw the chicken as I was eating my ham and eggs.