Pastor's Message

September 2003

In Luke 9:23, Jesus is talking to his disciples about their need to make a commitment, and tells them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Great sermons have been preached, echoing the call to “follow Jesus.” Bible studies have discussed what the words “deny themselves” might mean in today’s affluent culture, and challenging books have been written about how we must each “take up our cross.” Each of these phrases call us to make a decision, a decision for Christ. But if we look again, we see the little word, “daily,” and that changes the whole meaning of the sentence. We are not called to make a decision, or as we might say today, to make a choice, but we are called to make a commitment.

So what is the difference? A decision can be powerful, with significant impact. A person can “decide” to make a special gift of $1,000,000 to the church, and that is significant! Another person might decide to teach a Sunday School class, at least for a year, and that is a significant gift of time and energy. And even though these decisions have a lasting impact, there is a sense that there is a limit on the gift, that sometime in the future there will be a “turning back” to the way things were before. It is a little like the story about the photographer who was working in his studio when a young man came in with a picture of a beautiful young lady and asked if the photographer could make a copy of the picture. He said it should not be a problem, but as he took the picture out of the frame he happened to read the inscription on the back: “My dearest Tom, I love you with all my heart. I love you more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever. I am yours for all eternity.” It was signed “Diane.” But at the bottom was a P.S.: “If we ever break up, I want this picture back.” There can be no P.S. to your decision to follow Christ. To truly be a follower of Christ requires more than a decision. It requires a commitment, a daily commitment!

William Richard Ezell, in an article titled “Living on Death’s Row,” offers an interesting analogy. He suggests that we might like to think about “denying ourselves” as giving that $1,000,000 gift to the church, in a sense saying, “Here is my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.” But the reality of Christian living is that the vast majority of us never have $1,000,000 at one time, just as we don’t have our whole life before us at one time. In the same way that our lives are lived “one day at a time,” so our commitment to Christ must be one day at a time. Mr. Ezell suggests that God sends us to the bank and has us cash in the million dollar check for quarters, and we are then sent back out into life, putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Instead of making a million dollar sacrifice and going to Africa as a missionary, we are given the opportunity of making a 25-cent sacrifice of listening to a child tell you his troubles, instead of just saying “get lost.” Instead of sacrificing a million dollar career to go into a monastery, we are asked to make a 50-cent sacrifice and go to a church committee meeting when we would rather stay home and watch television. Instead of making a multi-million dollar sacrifice and risking our life to save another, we are asked to make a 25-cent sacrifice and visit a shut-in or mail a card to someone who is ill.

I like this image, and I think it is one that we can each use. Start each morning with an imaginary 4 quarters worth of commitment in your pocket and make a conscious effort to “spend” each quarter before the end of the day. When you do an act of kindness, decide whether it was a 25-cent deed, or a 50-cent deed. Don’t go back and try to increase the value later, set the value as you do it. You might even find that as you go through your days, acts of kindness will come more easily and what you thought of as 50-cent deeds are in reality only costing you 25, and some of those 25-cent deeds will feel more like a dime. And as the days go by, you will be able to “afford” to do even more kindness as you follow more easily the path of our Savior.

There is an old Sunday School song that has the words, “I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back.” This song is not really about decision. It is about commitment. Every morning when you start the day, you should confirm your decision to follow Jesus. Don’t stop. Don’t turn back. And go and spend your dollar’s worth of good deeds, 25 cents at a time.