Good evening brethren and Happy Sabbath!  I hope everyone is enjoying their evening.  If you haven't finished it already, tonight would be a great opportunity to curl up in front of the fireplace and finish reading 'Marriage and Family: the Missing Dimension.' I look forward to our discussion of this booklet in Columbia tomorrow!

Commitments

As mentioned last week, now is the time of year when make make resolutions to do (or stop doing) things.  Lose weight, save money, you name it.  And while we shouldn't make half-hearted or rash resolutions, it got me to thinking about the subject of commitment.  What is a commitment and what is it we're committed to?

A simple definition

One way to define a commitment would be a promise.  Someone asks you for a ride to work and you say yes.  It's a small thing, but it's a promise - one they perhaps are counting on for their livelihood.

Of course, commitments can be much larger than that.  Agreeing to work for an employer for a certain salary, leasing a car or buying a house are all forms of making commitments.  Then there are commitments of the heart - getting married, starting a family or just being there for a friend during a trial are ways in which we show commitment.

Unfortunately, in our world, the idea of commitment doesn't seem to mean what it used to.  Whether it's a promise to give a friend a lift, or the covenant of marriage, all too often we see commitments fall to the wayside, unfulfilled.

The biggest commitment of all

As important as some of those things are, none of them are as big a commitment as the commitment we make at baptism.  At baptism, we agree to put away our old way of life, and begin pursuing a new life, based on the life of Jesus Christ (compare Romans 6v1-10).  And even though it's sad to see people give up on earthly commitments, it's even sadder when people give up on their commitment to God.

As followers of Christ, let us never forget our commitment to He and the Father is an ongoing one.  Let's remember the desire we had at baptism to be a new man, and ask God for strength and humility to carry on always with our commitment to Him!