Pastor's Ponderings, October 22, 2018

Are You Committed?

Are you in a totally committed relationship? It seems that fewer young people are in committed relationships according to the Social & Policy Issue’s website published on June 8, 2015. “This means that not only are fewer young adults married, but also that fewer are in committed relationships. As a result, the percentage of young adults who report being single and not living with someone has risen dramatically in the past decade, from 52% in 2004 to 64% in 2014.”  Committed relationships seem to be declining.

However, in the book of Jeremiah, God says He is married to the Israelites (Jeremiah 3:14).  God is a faithful God and He is committed to the world.  He said He loves them so much that He gave His own Son for their salvation (John 3:16).  Like He loves us, God wants us to love Him with our whole heart, soul and strength (Matthew 22:37, 38).  He does not want faithless people who love the Lord and then love the worldly pleasures. He says a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways (James 1:8).

In this world system, people move in and out of relationships, go behind each other’s back and bond with others while tying themselves down to no one. The Apostle Paul asks what kinds of relationship can the body of Christ have with other gods since we are God’s temple (2 Corinthians 6:16)? God challenges us to present all of ourselves to Him in an intimate relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords (Romans 12:1).  

Let us recommit ourselves to love Him only and not the worldly system and its seductions.  The world’s pleasures are temporary, but Jesus is preparing a place for those who are totally in love with Him to live with Him always (John 14:3).  Let us be totally committed to God as He is to us.

Jeremiah 3:14
New International Version (NIV)

14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.

John 3:16
New International Version (NIV)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Matthew 22:37, 38 
New International Version (NIV)

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

James 1:8
King James Version (KJV)

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

2 Corinthians 6:16
New International Version (NIV)

16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Romans 12:1
New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

John 14:3
New International Version (NIV)

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.