Editorial—COMMITMENT

When I proposed to my fiancée to marry me, I remember I was not thinking about COMMITMENT, which is supposed to come with COMMITMENTS to fulfill once you get into married life. Honestly, I did not think at all about that matter. I was not aware that there are COMMITMENTS I had to make when she became my wife. The only thing I had in mind was to have a happy wife and a happy life right after the wedding reception was over. Thus, when I talk about my proposal, I was just as excited as I can be and expecting that my fiancée would accept it, which she blissfully did. The next day we started making plans and preparations for the wedding and looking forward to the big day ahead. Upon knowing my plan to get married, my father alerted me that marriage demands COMMITMENT.

The big day finally came, 47 years ago. On our wedding day, I held my fiancée’s hand and walked down the aisle. I was so excited because I remembered Proverbs 18:22, which says, “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord” (NIV). I was extremely happy for what I was about to find—a wife—but my heart was beating fast; my eyes were looking straight ahead toward the altar where the officiating pastor was standing still, waiting for us. While walking down the aisle, I was contemplating the COMMITMENTS my father had mentioned earlier. I was very nervous because I was about to learn the COMMITMENTS I would make that day. Sure enough, at the end of his sermonette, the pastor asked me to say my vow and my COMMITMENT to my wife, that from that day forward, I would love and cherish her for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, and concluded with “till death do us part.” Wow, what a COMMITMENT!

Do I COMMIT to my marriage vow? Absolutely, I do. The Bible has some COMMITMENTS for the married couple to fulfill: wife submit to your own husband (1 Peter 3:1); husband be considerate of your wife and treat her with respect (1 Peter 3:7), and honor the marriage by keeping the marriage bed pure (Heb. 13:4).  With God’s help, we have tried our best to always be in line with our COMMITMENT because a lack of COMMITMENT to the marriage will break down everything else on our spiritual journey.

The greatest COMMITMENT to marriage in Bible times is found in the book of Ruth.  Because of a famine in the land, Elimelek, Naomi, and their sons, Mahlon and Kilion, moved out to Moab. They married Moabite women: Orpah and Ruth, who then became widows. The story tells us that Naomi decided to return to Israel, and she told Ruth and Orpah to go back to their mothers’ homes. Orpah chose to return to Moab, which was a logical thing to do, but Ruth clung to Naomi. She made an extraordinary COMMITMENT to be with Naomi, her Jewish mother-in-law. Her COMMITMENT to remain with Naomi was so unbelievable: she would go wherever Naomi went; she renounced being a Moabite and became an Israelite; she left paganism and worshipped the living God; and she was willing to die in the name of the Lord. What a COMMITMENT!!

COMMITMENT is the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause. How is our COMMITMENT to God? Have we COMMITTED to being dedicated to His cause? Do you think Ruth’s COMMITMENTS are good examples for us to imitate and put into practice in our ministry?  Will we go wherever God asks us to go? Will we renounce our sinful life and live a sinless life?  Will we faithfully do the tasks God entrusted us with? Will we be willing to be His witnesses at any cost, even to the point of death?

Let us take a moment to ponder our COMMITMENT to God and recommit to it every single day.

Hiskia Missah
Editor

 

Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright ã 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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