Commitment is an act of committing to a charge or trust; an agreement or pledge to do something in the future; engagement; involvement.

I heard the words "commitment phobic." "What's that," you ask? It's the sort of person who enjoys relationships, even says they plan to marry some day, but “circumstances” always seems to keep them from doing so.

One feature of commitment is making a stand. Joshua chose to serve the Lord, to make a commitment. Scripture reprimands us to not be indecisive, to choose. Joshua 24:15 tells us "...if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day..." The Bible reminds us that we need to commit to the spiritual path we have chosen and not be swayed by those who try to deter us from that path.

"Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him, and He will do this. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." (Psalm 37:5-6)

There are numerous references in the Bible addressing the Christian’s commitment in various aspects of lives: to our families, our neighbors, employers, the church, our health, and in all things we do and say (Ephesians 6:5; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 31). But the Bible also teaches that the chief commitment of our lives is to God Himself. Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).

Jesus is telling us that every fiber of our being, every facet of our lives must be committed to loving and serving God. This means that we must hold nothing back from Him because God holds nothing back from us (John 3:16). Furthermore, Jesus tells us that our commitment to Him must supersede that of even our families: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). It means our commitment to Christ demands, if given an “either/or” situation, we turn away from them and continue on with Jesus. The bottom-line is that those who cannot make that kind of commitment cannot be His disciples.

It was the apostle Paul who exemplified the Lord’s example of commitment to sacrifice and service. He said: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Total commitment to God means that Jesus is our sole authority, our guiding light. Being committed to Christ means being fruitful; it means being a servant. Our proverb is simple and brief: “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).