My Soul, My Life, My All
What does it mean to be committed to someone? It goes far beyond just showing emotions, doing thoughtful acts for them, and showing them the respect that they deserve. It is giving up everything that you have and that you are for the person. When you truly love someone, you will do whatever it takes to be close to them because you love them with every ounce of your being.
The same can go for a cause. Think of the people who gave up everything (including their life) to fight for their country. Many people nowadays have committed their entire to fighting for a political or moral cause. Some take a vow of poverty in order that they might allocate all of their resources to serving others.
There is no halfway when it comes to giving yourself up. You either give up everything, or you don't surrender enough. In "The Princess Bride", Westley is supposedly half-dead after being tortured. However, there is no such thing as being half-dead - you're either alive or dead. In the same way, every person is either alive to the world or dead to the world.
What is "the world"? It is, in a nutshell, things that are not everlasting. As examples, the pursuit of entertainment, glory, money, fame, and sex are all part of "the world." There are a lot of things in the world that are seen to be good (and, in fact, can be quite helpful and useful to us). I'm not going to get into a lengthy discussion of what is or isn't worldly; however, what belongs in the world can be reflected by where we place our priorities.
And that is exactly what I've been looking at recently - what are my priorities? At camp this summer, our theme was "My Soul, My Life, My All". It was a chance for me (and others, I'm certain) to look at our lives and see if we are giving our souls, our lives, and our all to serving God. Once a person makes the decision to become a Christian and pursue God, there is no halfway commitment. A Christian cannot serve God only half-heartedly. Instead of being lukewarm in the commitment that one has made, one needs to be "hot" for God.
Have I been on-fire for God? For the past two years or so (essentially, since I was last at camp), I have not been seeking after God whole-heartedly. I was still serving God - I was on the WCF executive for a semester, I led chapel for a few terms, I attended Bible studies, and I worshipped at church. It's not that I wasn't serving God through these activites or that I was being a fake; in fact, I was very much seeking after God in these activities. However, outside of these activities, there were many periods when I wasn't trying to get to know God more. With the exception of the Spring 2004 term (when I had lots of time to read the Bible and pray when commuting), I have let myself become too busy with schoolwork, entertainment, affairs of the College, and so on.
It's not like I'm about to stop my studies at UW, cut off all contact with my friends, or resign from my position as a don; on the contrary, I intend to keep doing these things (and perhaps with even more effort and vigour). However, as I said before, it's comes down to a matter of priorities. Am I going to make it a priority to spend a more significant portion of my day with God and getting to know Him better? Am I going to spend more time reading the Bible and seeing the truths written therein? The answer is a resounding YES!
Once I make it a priority to seek after God in all areas of my life - whether it be school, work, extra-curriculars, or otherwise - then I will be able to offer God my life, my soul, and my all. I cannot offer 75% of my life and 95% of my soul; it's 100% or nothing. This is the commitment that I am trying to make: that I will serve God in every area of my life. Rather than trying to indulge in the world and find my place there, I need to indulge in God and seek His glory.
So what shall I offer God? My time, my schooling, my friendships, my entertainment, my employment, my possessions, and so much more. I offer up My Soul, My Life, My All. And then I leave it to God to see what He will do with it and how He will use it for His kingdom.
The same can go for a cause. Think of the people who gave up everything (including their life) to fight for their country. Many people nowadays have committed their entire to fighting for a political or moral cause. Some take a vow of poverty in order that they might allocate all of their resources to serving others.
There is no halfway when it comes to giving yourself up. You either give up everything, or you don't surrender enough. In "The Princess Bride", Westley is supposedly half-dead after being tortured. However, there is no such thing as being half-dead - you're either alive or dead. In the same way, every person is either alive to the world or dead to the world.
What is "the world"? It is, in a nutshell, things that are not everlasting. As examples, the pursuit of entertainment, glory, money, fame, and sex are all part of "the world." There are a lot of things in the world that are seen to be good (and, in fact, can be quite helpful and useful to us). I'm not going to get into a lengthy discussion of what is or isn't worldly; however, what belongs in the world can be reflected by where we place our priorities.
And that is exactly what I've been looking at recently - what are my priorities? At camp this summer, our theme was "My Soul, My Life, My All". It was a chance for me (and others, I'm certain) to look at our lives and see if we are giving our souls, our lives, and our all to serving God. Once a person makes the decision to become a Christian and pursue God, there is no halfway commitment. A Christian cannot serve God only half-heartedly. Instead of being lukewarm in the commitment that one has made, one needs to be "hot" for God.
Have I been on-fire for God? For the past two years or so (essentially, since I was last at camp), I have not been seeking after God whole-heartedly. I was still serving God - I was on the WCF executive for a semester, I led chapel for a few terms, I attended Bible studies, and I worshipped at church. It's not that I wasn't serving God through these activites or that I was being a fake; in fact, I was very much seeking after God in these activities. However, outside of these activities, there were many periods when I wasn't trying to get to know God more. With the exception of the Spring 2004 term (when I had lots of time to read the Bible and pray when commuting), I have let myself become too busy with schoolwork, entertainment, affairs of the College, and so on.
It's not like I'm about to stop my studies at UW, cut off all contact with my friends, or resign from my position as a don; on the contrary, I intend to keep doing these things (and perhaps with even more effort and vigour). However, as I said before, it's comes down to a matter of priorities. Am I going to make it a priority to spend a more significant portion of my day with God and getting to know Him better? Am I going to spend more time reading the Bible and seeing the truths written therein? The answer is a resounding YES!
Once I make it a priority to seek after God in all areas of my life - whether it be school, work, extra-curriculars, or otherwise - then I will be able to offer God my life, my soul, and my all. I cannot offer 75% of my life and 95% of my soul; it's 100% or nothing. This is the commitment that I am trying to make: that I will serve God in every area of my life. Rather than trying to indulge in the world and find my place there, I need to indulge in God and seek His glory.
So what shall I offer God? My time, my schooling, my friendships, my entertainment, my employment, my possessions, and so much more. I offer up My Soul, My Life, My All. And then I leave it to God to see what He will do with it and how He will use it for His kingdom.