Skip to main content

Commitment ... the final hurdle?

"I'd rather go and not come back than not go at all!"


I read these words this morning and it inspired thoughts of amazing commitment and willingness to do whatever it takes to get a dream fulfilled. It spoke of an understanding that to progress and move forward there will, in all likelihood, be a price to pay. Progress does not often come cheaply, it takes a dogged determination to be willing to go the extra mile, pay the price, persevere in the face of relentless challenge and all in order to make the breakthrough, take the next tiny step in the right direction or see the completion of a goal or task. 

It doesn't speak of procrastination, putting things off until tomorrow, doing it when you can be bothered or when it all falls into place and fits in with your plans.

It would be so refeshing to see the whole body of Christ rise up in faith and make that declaration - to determine to complete that which has been entrusted to us - the task of global evangelisation. To see us all praying without ceasing until the breakthrough comes, to see us all willing to go wherever we are sent without delay or hesitation, to be counting the cost but considering it all a price worth paying.

Now, where did I read these inspiring words? A new worker, a new believer, a testimony ... 

Actually it was a newspaper article in the Telegraph concerning a 21 year old student, willing to pay the price to be part of a team making a trip to Mars which will, in all likelihood, be a one-way trip. More details here 

Are we willing to make a one-way trip in the name of Jesus?

Asking God for the grace to press on!

Comments

  1. Joseph StollFebruary 3, 2014 at 5:08 PM

    I wish it were that easy to go and not return! Sadly, it's really easy to go out with that kind of commitment only to come back discouraged.

    Would you say that preparation and commitment make such a nice couple that they should get married?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ajbaggFebruary 3, 2014 at 5:46 PM

      Yes, preparation is important alongside commitment but so is perseverence and ongoing support. However, if we look to any of these as more neccessary than the keeping power of Christ then we will be under resourced.

      I think too that discouragement can come from unmet expectations so we have to think very hard about what 'expectations' we should have when moving forward to ensure that they are tied firmly into God's plans and measures of effectiveness.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Feel free to add comments or ask questions:

Popular posts from this blog

Labels

Who are you? I have never been a great fan of labels when it comes to describing members of the body of Christ. eg. he is anglican, she is Baptist, they are Charismatic, etc. etc. I remember once causing a man to become increasingly hot under the collar when he asked me who I was? To which I replied I was a disciple (follower) of Jesus. He was meaning which Church did I attend (presumably so he could classify me and decide whether I was bona fide or not) and my answer did not bring him peace, but I refused to go any further.  Why? Because, as I said, I am not a great fan of labels, but also because for me there is a very important distinction between primarily identifying myself with Jesus and identifying myself with Church. Of course, I recognise that by becoming a follower of Jesus I become part of the body of Christ, but that can be very distinct from being a member of a Church. To me this is the crucial difference between vibrant faith and dusty religion.  ...
1 comment
Read more

Homes I have lived in #3

This year I am celebrating my silver wedding anniversary ... Just for something to do I have begun to sketch all the houses we have lived in during that time. So here is house number #3 On our return to the UK we were faced with the question that faces all people in transition, what next? For us, we were encouraged by our friends to investigate further training and opted to spend a year with Kerygma ministries. We joined with a group of some 20 other people from various different cultures and backgrounds to join the ministry led by Dr Bob Gordon, based at Drayton Hall near Norwich. We spent one year here, between September 1993 and July 1994.   Significant events that took place here included: Suffered reverse culture shock, as I grappled with the transition from life in a mudhut in Africa to life in the UK in a Manor House! (Struggled with the amount of money being spent on a sign that was being placed outside ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Helpful read ...

Sacred Pathways: Discover your Soul's Path to God - Gary Thomas  When you became a christian did you look around other people's lives and seek to model some of their spiritual disciplines? Did you find that somehow they didn't work for you in quite the same way as they seemed to work for them? Did this lead you to a place of discouragement? Did you think that, somehow, the things that bring such life to other people but don't bring life to you must mean that there is something wrong with you? Or that maybe God doesn't love you as much as He loved those people whom you sought to emulate? These are very real questions that all c hristians probably grapple with at some point. As we grow and mature in Christ we eventually reach a place of liberty where we realise that we are unique and therefore we shouldn't be surprised when our Father deals uniquely with us - and the way we most easily 'connect' to Him is also unique. Or perhaps we find over time th...
Post a Comment
Read more