TheoTrek — A Journey with God in Discipleship
Celebrating Commitment
Matthew 13:43-52; Ephesians 5:8-18
Celebration and commitment—the words don’t sound quite right together. This is not the age of commitment, especially the long term kind. Commitment often seems passé along with so many virtues and values of the past. We celebrate what is meaningful and joyous. It would not seem that commitment would give rise to celebration. Then again, we celebrate engagements, weddings, pregnancies, births, graduations, new houses, and new jobs. Each of these is laden with commitment. Why should it be hard to celebrate commitment to Christ Jesus as Lord?
We have talked about purpose over the last several weeks. We dealt with worship as living to please God. We spoke of fellowship as sharing in God’s larger family. We looked at discipleship as the challenge to become ever more like Christ. We talked of ministry as service among believers. We recalled our mission to the world beyond the community of believers. These purposes give our lives a sense of balance and structure. They grant meaning to our existence. Living according to purpose requires a life of commitment. It is to this sense of commitment to purpose that Paul calls the believers in Ephesus.
Paul reminded the Ephesians of their needed to commit to the new way of life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. He recalled how life had been transformed for them out of one reality into another of surpassing beauty and value. He wrote of the contrast between darkness and light. He spoke of sinfulness and purity, of fruitlessness and virtue, of death and life. Contrasting the old life with the new, he called believers to remember that this new life revolves around pleasing Christ. They had a new commitment should give structure and purpose to their daily living. Discarding the old ways, we begin anew by living to please the One we call Lord.
Most of us here do not have much concept of such “old ways of life.” Most of us were born into the family of faith and nurtured along in a natural progression of steps and stages. While some of us wandered off to experience another lifestyle for a time, faith in Christ had long been established as the normal way of living. It might seem that many of us have little connection to this sense of stark contrast in our own experience. Paul’s words are still relevant.
While I have little connection to a time without Christ, I recall a sense of wonder regarding a new commitment. I recall those first days, weeks, months, years, of a compelling desire to be with the one who would become my wife. I remember how no one needed remind me that my commitment was to please Karen. We were in seminary with many responsibilities and demands on our time. Somehow, none of that intruded on the joy I had over each opportunity to spend a little more time with her. I found pleasure in pleasing her at every opportunity. My commitment to pleasing Karen placed all others plans and purposes in life in a plane of secondary importance. It was important enough to plan a wedding to celebrate our commitment to each other, sharing our joy with family and friends.
As Paul writes of this quality of commitment to a new life, he contrasts being filled with God’s spirit and drunkenness. Some attempt to flee life’s pressures through alcohol’s dulling the senses. Paul calls us to a heightened appreciation of life under the influence of God’s spirit. In Christ, we are called to be more alive, not less—given to a commitment spilling over into celebration of God’s love.
Jesus spoke of the gospel as worthy of our all. In today’s passage, he casts several stories of people doing all they could to claim something of surpassing worth. We are well-versed in attempts to fulfill dreams of material wealth. We understand instinctively the desire for a sense of physical comfort and the pleasures that riches can afford. We readily identify with the drive for greater affluence and the reported peace of mind brought by greater wealth.
It was common practice to protect treasure by burying it. There were no safes and bank vaults protected by electronics and steel. It was also illegal to cover up treasure in another’s field without alerting the owner. Ethics demanded that one accept the known value of a field, including treasure of which the owner was unaware. The man in Jesus’ parable would have been guilty of treachery by all accounts. That was not the point of the story. The impropriety of his actions misses the point, however. He took a risk, giving his best effort to attain something of greater worth than all his earthly possessions combined. He recognized a greater sense of value and did all he could to acquire it.
Was it illegal? Yes. Was it unethical? Yes. Did it illustrate Jesus’ point? Yes. Like the man in the story, we need to recognize the value of the gospel, accepting the wealth of its full value. It is worth every effort we might make, yet it is beyond the scope of our purchasing ability. Jesus mentions no celebration, but we can easily imagine this man’s desperate attempts to retain an aura of calm amid the bargaining and purchase process. We can easily sense his desire to celebrate the successful transaction, recognizing his joy. Though God’s grace is free, it of incomparable value, calling for both commitment and celebration.
The merchant sought the best on which to build his fortune. On locating the best, he sold all else to focus on the one thing of greatest value. Nothing else would compare. A fisherman’s net does not discriminate much among the fish it gathers. The fisherman, however, searches among the catch for the best. He looks for value, casting out the distractions to his purpose. The fisherman keeps what matters to his purpose. He looks for value and retains what matters. Jesus says the teacher of the law or of the gospel must do the same.
We are charged to look for things of true value among the distractions of life. If our purpose is to live the fullness of life in Christ, we must assess the quality of our commitments. Those commitments of real value are worthy of celebration. They are akin to hidden treasure in a field, or the pearl to be sold at greatest profit. We understand the world of commerce and economic gain. We see clearly how one can make a profit in the business world. Our concern, however, should be making a profit in life.
The true pearl lies in the gospel. Here is life’s real treasure. It is in Christ that we find the contrast of light amid darkness, life amid death, value amid distractions of lesser worth. The gospel clarifies that which is worthy of our commitment and celebration.
“Be careful, then, how you live—not as the foolish, but as the wise, making the most of every opportunity,” Paul warns. If we have in our hands a pearl of great price, a treasure worthy of our every effort, why would we allow distractions to steal it away? It is in living to please God with our all that life gains meaning, purpose, and direction. Commitment to this gospel is worthy of celebration. It is here that true life begins. Shall we live in celebration of commitment to this new way of life? Those other things are just distractions and can’t compare with the surpassing worth of Christ Jesus.
—©Copyright 2006 Christopher B. Harbin