One Hundred Percent
I ventured down to the banks of the St. John’s River this past weekend for the renewal of the annual football rivalry between the University of Georgia and the University of Florida. It was the thirtieth consecutive time that I had attended the Georgia-Florida game dating back to my time as a student at the University of Georgia.
In the days of my youth it was most always a celebration for those of us of the Red and Black persuasion. However, as I have moved into middle age it has become more of a test of endurance for the Georgia partisans as the Gators have been the dominant team.
This year the Gators started strong and capitalized on a couple of Bulldog turnovers as young Aaron Murray, Georgia’s quarterback, played like a freshman quarterback will sometimes play. The half ended with the Gator’s holding a 21-7 lead resulting in much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the Bulldog faithful.
The second half was a much different story. The Bulldogs led by young Murray, the great receiver A..J. Greene and tight end Orson Charles burst forth with 24 points while the Gators could tally only 10. As the seconds ticked down the Bulldogs and Gators were tied at 31 at the end of regulation play.
The two teams went into overtime and unfortunately the Gators prevailed by a scant field goal. The Bulldogs had come close, but football games have a winner and a loser and there is no award for coming close. Coming close did not get the job done.
The thought of how meaningless it is to come close has led me to contemplate the idea of commitment. It seems to me in our commitment we are either one hundred percent committed or we aren’t committed at all. There is no such thing is partial commitment. Coming close does not get the job done.
How many of us would be pleased if our spouse was faithful to us 98 percent of the time? In school, 98 percent makes one an A-plus student. In marriage 98 percent faithfulness is a failing grade.
How many of us who employ people would be pleased if an employee refrained from stealing from the company’s proceeds 98 percent of the time? Very few if any employers would find that acceptable.
How many of us would be pleased if our employer only paid us 98 percent of our agreed upon salary or only paid us for working three weeks out of the month? I doubt many would find that acceptable either.
Then why do so many of us look at our commitment to God as a part time commitment? When we commit our lives to God we are making a total commitment. True, there may be times that keeping that commitment is inconvenient.
There may be times keeping that commitment might cause us to take stands that are unpopular. There may times that keeping that commitment might direct us to do things we might not want to do or to places we do not wish to go. Even so, God is a full-time God and he wants total commitment from his people.
The truth is the Christian life is demanding. Dietrich Bonheoffer, the great German theologian, lamented that the church often preached “cheap grace.” By that he meant that the church preached a grace that demanded no commitment or response from those who received it.
Bonheoffer certainly practiced what he preached; he was executed by the Nazis during World War II due to his opposition to Adolph Hitler. He gave his life for what he believed.
Yes, God offers us salvation freely. Grace is a gift from God but in accepting that gift God asks for us to devote our life to him.
Many of us I am sure have heard and seen the children’s song and dance called the Hokey Pokey. In this dance one is asked to put one’s “Right arm in and right arm out and shake it all about, do the hokey pokey and turn your self about, that’s what its all about.”
The song ends with a verse that says, “Put your whole self in.” I offer that this is what God wants from all of us, to put our whole self in, to give total commitment to the Kingdom of God.
Imagine what would be possible for the churches of our community if those who belonged to them put their whole self in. Imagine the problems we could eradicate in our community if those who claim the name of our Christ we commit themselves one hundred percent to being in his service.
That is what God asks of us and God has every right to ask us for one hundred percent commitment, for when Jesus died on the cross God showed us that he was one hundred percent committed to us.