“And Joshua said unto the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.'” Joshua 3:5
Dear Ones:
It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer who once said, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” What did he mean, and what does it mean to commit oneself to Christ? When Abraham was called by God, He told him: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy father’s kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.” (Gen. 12:1) In the book of Hebrews, we find that Abraham’s faith responded to such a call, by going out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, and that he went out, not knowing where he was going. How can this be? How can one commit himself, or herself, to such a calling? The beginning point of the calling is the knowledge of God, and that knowledge revealed to the heart. How can one believe in God, and commit himself, or herself, to Him without a knowledge of Him? So, we find that the beginning of commitment for Abraham began with the revelation of who God truly was, and what the revealed word of God declared of Him. God revealed Himself to Abraham, primarily by His words. Abraham’s responsibility, and response, was to commit himself wholly to the God of the revelation.
All throughout Scripture God reveals Himself, His nature, His person, so that His call will have a true and lasting effect upon those called. For example, God would tell Moses to tell the people of Israel in Egypt, that his name was, “I AM THAT I AM.” Why did He do this? It is for the same reason that He revealed Himself personally to Moses, by saying, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Ex. 3:6) There is in the declaration of the name of God, the revelation of Who He is. This particular knowledge to every individual, evokes a response in the heart, for it has become the basis of faith, and commitment to God.
We do not know the span of time between the moment Jesus began His public ministry, to the time He began calling His disciples. What we do know is that, when He called them, they all had a certain knowledge of God, one that was revealed to them by His words, His actions, and the former testimony of the Scriptures, which they seemed to have a certain grasp of. This knowledge, and their grasp of it, was put to the test when He commanded Simon and Andrew: “Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17) How could they leave their nets, as they were fishermen, and straightway follow Him? There was something they knew of Christ, and had become convinced of it to the point, that they were willing to commit themselves to follow Him, to believe, trust and obey Him implicitly. They committed themselves to Christ as their Lord and Master because they believed the truth of Him. But, how were they able to do this, for there is a large gap between knowing the truth, and knowing the power of the experience of eternal life? The answer lies in the word “grace.” The rich young ruler, when he was called to leave all and follow Christ, could not do it, for he would not receive the grace of God to do so. No man can “follow” Christ, be committed to Him, unless there is the appeal of the heart to God for the grace to repent and believe. God alone saves, and gives grace to follow.
There are three elements of commitment, the first being, the forgetting of the past as a point of reference for knowing God. Present revelation, on the basis of God’s word, is the foundation of present faith. The second element is a daily cross, that dying to all without and within, that is not of Christ. Lastly, commitment is engagement to follow Christ, with no reservation, regret, or retreat.
Dear Father, Give us grace to respond to Christ’s call. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad