Intro: Recently, I had a discussion with a friend about the word “commitment.” Every conversation I have had with others about commitment ends up revealing some very different ideas or interpretations. Some people have use words like love, devotion, or faithfulness in their interpretation of “commitment.” Others have used words like promise or loyalty. How would you define the word “commitment?”
In order to understand the biblical meaning of the word “commitment,” we must also look at the Hebrew word “khesed” [love] because these two words are bound together and describe God’s character perfectly. Listen to what God is like and how He describes Himself in Scripture: “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty (Exodus 34:6).
God’s love is not conditional; He IS love and He is merciful, generous, and deeply committed to us. As members of God’s family—who we are—we are to become reflections of God’s loyal love or khesed. Our sense of worth and value is built on God’s loyal love for us. Thus, the destiny before us is to become like Christ—loyal love incarnate—and one day, we will be just like him! God has already made the commitment.
1 John 3:1-3 VOICE
1 Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children. And in the same way the world didn’t recognize Him, the world does not recognize us either.
2 My loved ones, we have been adopted into God’s family; and we are officially His children now. The full picture of our destiny is not yet clear, but we know this much: when Jesus appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. 3 All those who focus their hopes on Him and His coming seek to purify themselves just as He is pure.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your commitment and loyal love. As we receive Your love and allow it to grow in us, we realize our true sense of worth to You. Help us to remain committed to Your pure love while we wait for Your return. In Jesus’ name. Amen.