“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23, 24)
Commitment to something or to someone is a serious and engaging principle that must precede actions of any worthwhile value. It is that way in marriage, in raising a family, in working either for yourself or for someone else. Commitment is required if you want to participate in some sort of school activity whether it is playing in the band or orchestra, performing on the athletic field/court, or on the stage in a debate or play. We understand that as we grow up in life … commitment becomes a more precious commodity.
Rewards are not generally obtained by cutting corners … at least not for long. High school and college leave little to no room for cutting corners. Relationships really don’t leave much margin for cutting corners either because one will get out of that relationship what they have put into that relationship. If one or both parties cut corners, or try to find shortcuts to becoming better, someone loses and is cheated out of the best the other person could do and be.
When it comes to our serving God there is simply and seriously no room for cutting corners! Living a good life … living a godly life … living a blessed life requires our giving of the best we have to give! It is very obvious how the Lord views our holding back, isn’t it? To receive reward from the Lord we must remember that we serve the Lord Christ and he demands our best!
We must learn to apply the ‘dying to self’ principle of Galatians 2:20 in every aspect of our lives. This process involves a daily decision to surrender to the Lordship of Christ! It involves yielding our will to God and adopting His perspective for life (Romans 12:1, 2). No, we can never become holy in our own strength and abilities. NEVER! But with the help of the Lord and His word for man, obedience to His will, much prayer and association with godly people of like precious faith … the task will become much easier. But there are simply no shortcuts to becoming a more holy person. Make no mistake, we glorify and honor our God BEST when we are striving to be more like Him in every aspect of our lives! Are you hearing these words with your heart? It is virtually impossible to become and remain a person of holiness and character without giving all of our heart, soul, mind and body in devotion and obedience to God. We can’t afford to hold back any portion of our heart or life, or hold on to some secret sin that is ‘our precious!’
If you want to be the best at what you do in life, don’t hold back! Always know in your heart of hearts that you gave it your best shot. We must realize that the Lord, who knows what is in the hearts of all men, knows what we do or don’t do!
There is no quick fix in getting right with God … or in getting closer to God! We have to be willing to ‘stretch ourselves’ to become more like God’s Son, Jesus Christ even as the apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:21, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”
“Men will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it; die for it; anything but live for it.”
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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