As a people to whom the Truth has been revealed, it behoves us to be commuted to that truth and to its principles and practices.
We may fail miserably at times and it distresses us when we do. But God has not left us without help; He has invited us to come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. We can be encouraged by the fact that we can remain faithful through strength drawn from the Word and from our Father.
Two committed men
Our resolve can be strengthened from the readings in Matthew 8. There we see two men who knew the meaning of dedication and commitment –Jesus and the centurion.
The example of Jesus
Consider our Lord Jesus. Jesus never sinned. His flawless character gave mankind a perfect example to follow. We are blessed to have a written record of him from which to draw renewed resolve in our own hearts.
Christ was humble. Do we find ourselves being proud and haughty? Do we say, “I don’t care what you think!” or “I am going to do this anyway.” Do we find ourselves boasting about our accomplishments, not realizing it is hurtful and offensive to others? Do we realize that when we insult or wrong a brother we wrong the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 25:45)?
Christ was merciful. Do we find ourselves holding grudges for wrongs done to us? Jesus was asked how many times we should forgive. Seventy times seven was the answer. As we have forgiven, so shall we be forgiven (Matt. 6:14,15).
Christ came to serve. Do we find ourselves reluctant to get involved in the affairs of the ecclesia or the ecclesial world? Maybe we have helped but have not been appreciated, so we feel this is an excuse for not participating any more. Was this Christ’s attitude? When he was rejected and insulted did he stop serving? Perhaps some forsook the assembling of themselves together because they did not want to get involved in the problems of other members of the meeting (cf. Heb. 10:24).
Christ was not envious. Do we find ourselves jealous of another’s abilities, appearance or possessions? Envy belongs with pride and should not be present in the heart of a disciple.
Christ was loving. Do we find ourselves hating? Hatred is easy to justify but John says if we hate our brother, we walk in darkness (I John 2:9). We must develop a sincere love of the brethren in imitation of the love demonstrated by God who loved us before we loved Him (I John 4:11).
Christ was prayerful. Do we find praying difficult? Do we find ourselves not praying as often as we should? Prayer is our means of communication with the Father. He has spoken to us abundantly through His word, but He also wants to hear from us. Regular prayer helps us to keep our minds focused on God’s perspective.
Christ was meek. Meekness means teachableness. Do we find ourselves unwilling to listen to what another person has to say? Do we jump to conclusions even before the other person has finished speaking? Do we feel that we have a monopoly on knowledge?
As we compare ourselves to Christ the words of Paul come to mind:
“That in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph. 4:22-24 NASB).
The example of the centurion
The centurion was humble. When it came to having Jesus in his home, he said, “Lord do not trouble yourself, for I am not fit for you to come under my roof’ ‘ (Lk. 7:6). This was true humility; it was based on a thorough understanding of himself and the realization of how far short he was from the perfection of Jesus. Are we as perceptive as the centurion?
This centurion knew he was a Gentile, not part of the covenant people, yet he knew and believed in the mercy of God. He was honest enough to accept that any blessing he received from God was completely undeserved.
He was selfless. He was not thinking of himself, of his own needs, but of the needs of others. Although he was a Gentile, he loved the Jews and had respect for the high standards of their Law.
Romans 2:13-16 is interesting in this regard. This centurion was doing the work of the law in his heart. His conscience, enlightened by hearing the gospel, bore witness to him. He was not in the dark about his own state before God and thus said that he was not fit to have Jesus under his roof. He knew the meaning of commitment and dedication and no doubt was not satisfied with the level of his own toward God. He knew the consequences of sin but he knew that with Jesus there is mercy.
Doing better
A great advantage of grace is that we can look at ourselves in retrospect, admit where we have gone wrong and resolve to avoid the same problem in the future. This really is the path of wisdom. As Solomon wrote: “A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool throws off restraint and is careless” (Prov. 14:16).
Through faith we can recover again and resolve to put on that new self created in righteousness and holiness. The righteous man will turn away from evil. He will be cautious and look where he is going. But a fool will throw off restraint and become careless.
Paul admonishes us to examine ourselves before we partake of the bread and the wine. We have no business to examine each other. Before the table of our Lord, our scrutiny is to be reserved for ourselves. We must look to see if we are in the faith.
Although we are admonished to do this before partaking of the emblems, self examination is not a once-a-week process. Self awareness is a continuous process. The prudent disciple constantly looks where he is going, comparing his words and actions against the standard of our Lord Jesus.
Let us step aside from this fast-paced life for a while and see if we are truly committed and dedicated to the right course. It is wise to do so. We may feel we are doing fairly well. But bearing in mind the example of the Lord Jesus and the centurion, we have some way to go. It is imperative, therefore, that we take advantage of this opportunity to renew our commitment and dedication.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One