Australian evangelist John Smith talks about one of the most unpopular words in the Christian faith . . . commitment.

John Smith
John Smith

Prophets are great entertainment, people like watching them because they're always a little crazy, with their weird visions and outrageous statements. It's fun watching prophets - providing we don't have to do anything about what they say.

The problem with prophets is they tend to be consumed by truth. They don't give a damn about being entertaining. All they care about is the burden of the Word of the Lord. When a prophet sees people aren't doing what he's preaching, he simply preaches it again, and again, and again.

Prophets usually begin as crowd pleasers and end up getting stoned. The Word of the Lord is great entertainment until it comes to commitment. Commitment is absolutely the bottom line. But the commitments of Christians are so often partial, and so often in the wrong direction. Listen to Paul: "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ...For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 3:8, 1:21).

That's the kind of man who established the church at a time far more immoral and unjust than ours. It's the only way you will ever establish the church - by commitment.

Early this century a theologian wrote, "This is an age without passion." When I read that I thought, "What does he mean? Everyone's passionate - they're passionate in cars, in parks, in aeroplanes, everywhere." Then I realised that wasn't passion at all. Two dogs can do that.

He was right. We are passionless. We are bland and sloppy. This is a generation when people aren't committed to anything. They're not committed to any political ideology. They shift around according to their back pocket. They're not committed to relationships: "She didn't give me what I wanted so I needed space."

They're not committed to theology. Look at some of the religious best sellers in this country. In a world that is falling apart, filled with division and political anarchy, wracked by starvation and brokenness and godlessness and immorality, how can we possibly make the best seller of the year: How To Be Happy Though Rich?

Here's the Word of Jesus to us: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it" (Mark 8:34-35).

We don't believe that. Self-actualisation, self-seeking, self-gratification has been turned into theology for the church. But Jesus says: "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?...If anyone is ashamed of my words in the adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels" (Mark 8:36-38).

That's the bottom line. As somebody put it, "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, nothing is too great for me to do for Him."

Commitment to Christ means commitment to truth. During the last World War Christians like everyone else didn't want to know what the Nazis were doing to the Jews. They didn't want truth. Christians in South Africa are doing exactly the same thing today. God help us if all we want is 'truth' that comforts, not truth that exposes.

Commitment to Christ means commitment to righteousness and justice. Righteousness, in the fullest sense, means 'right living'. It's not just right thinking - a person's theology isn't good enough. We have to be committed to Christ in every part of our lives - our politics, our relationships, our economics, everything.

Commitment to Christ means commitment to dreaming. I couldn't believe what I do about the darkness of the world unless that sense of prophetic doom wasn't balanced by dreams like Isaiah dreamed: "The day is coming when the Lord Almighty will be like a glorious crown of flowers for His people who survive. He will give them a sense of justice and courage . . ." (28: 5-6).

"When that day comes the deaf will be able to hear the book being read aloud, the blind who have been living in darkness will have their eyes opened, the poor and humble will once again find the happiness which the Lord, the holy one of Israel, gives" (29: 18-19).

We need to be committed - not to a dry, old spiritless Christianity which has lost its hope and dreams, but to Christ, to truth, to justice, to dreaming. CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.