Whatever Happened to Commitment?

I've recently been preaching a marriage series entitled, "Lord of the Rings." It's been difficult having to touch on subjects that require people to do serious introspection, but it is very necessary. Yesterday, I preached on the topic of "commitment." When I asked the couples who had been married for more than 50 years what the key to their marital success was, they all said, "commitment." They admitted that their marriages weren't perfect, but rather than choosing to walk-out over conflict, these committed couples chose to walk-through their problems. Commitment was an integral and an foundational part of these long-term marriages!

In the middle of a marriage series, God revealed to me the lack of commitment among "Christians" in so many areas -- including to their local church. We had a family leave our church last year and state, "You all expect too much commitment here." I'm sure many other church-goers have a similar concept which pastors call the "consumer" mentality. People choose a church based on what's in it for them and they rarely want to give anything back. They want good ministries for all of their family members, but they don't ever want to help in any of those areas.

Other believers have what could be called a "hip-hop" mentality toward commitment. They get their hip out of joint and hop on over to the next church when their feathers get ruffled. A simple offense over a preference results in a total walk-out on the church family they have loved, laughed, served, and shared with. I've often wondered if these solemn saints would walk-out on their own spouse and children if they had different musical tastes at home... Wow! This could be why some kids hide their music from their legalistic parents. One thing is for sure, this is a pattern which will be repeated and the church-hoppers will hop again. I guess we could rename these as the "Elizabeth Taylor" church members. They initiate relationships, tell you how wonderful you are compared to their ex, vow commitment to their new church family, entrench themselves, love, serve, and then LEAVE ... it's only a matter of time.

There are also the "fair-weather" church members. This group is like the fair-weather sports fan who changes his team allegiance based on winning percentages. These church members"commit" to a body of believers as long as the church does everything the way they like it. They're committed during the good times; but when a problem arises, they suddenly feel God "leading" them somewhere else. They are like the adulterer who makes his menu selection, but when he sees what someone else ordered... he wants to try some of that! These church members will move their membership whenever a new preacher comes to town, a church starts a new program, or the preaching strikes a cord of conviction.

Lack of commitment among "Christians" is not limited to the church, it spills over into the workplace. Long-time employees fail to appreciate the opportunities provided by an employer and choose to walk-out for a few more cents per hour. Lack of commitment is seen in major league sports when players take free-agency and sell their soul to the highest bidder (like they couldn't survive on a mere $5 million per year). Lack of commitment is seen in some college students who transfer from school to school and some totally drop out. Lack of commitment is seen when dads don't keep promises made to their children and they break the marriage vows made to their spouse.

Lack of commitment is evidenced in many arenas, but it can generally be traced back to a lack of commitment to God. Are you struggling to keep your commitments? Heed the command found in Deut. 6:10-14. First, remember that everything you have comes from God. Second, remain faithful to Him. Verse 14 says, "You shall not go after other gods..." Be committed to God and all of your other commitments will fall into place!" Finally, realize that Jesus was fully committed when He died on Calvary's cross for you and Rom 12:1-2 says that it is our "reasonable" service to be living sacrifices (committed) to Him!

The Lost Tomb of Jesus

"The Lost Tomb of Jesus?" You've got to be kidding. Tours are given of the site daily that both Christian and secular historians have identified. So why would anyone say they found Jesus' family tomb, His bones, and the bones of His wife and son? I smell an advertising scheme being used to help someone put a dollar or two in his personal bank account!

Academy Award winning director, James Cameron is catalyst behind this endeavor. Cameron and investigative journalist Simcha Jacobovici, who wrote the book "The Jesus Family Tomb" are attempting to ride the coat tails of Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code." Interesting, since James Cameron's 1998 movie, Titanic, was such a success and Ron Howard's, "The Da Vinci Code," was not. After all of the hype prior to the Da Vinci code and questions about whether or not it would cause people to doubt their faith, that movie moved off the scene quickly and very little discussion followed.

Cameron's "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" will premier on March 4 on the Discovery Channel. I for one - won't be watching! To call this a documentary raises great question about the credibility of the Discovery Channel itself. The entire premise for this "documentary" is built around theories that have been discredited by archaelologists since the limestone boxes were discovered in 1980. In fact, Cameron and Jacobivici both appeared recently on the TODAY Show and admitted that the probability that the remains are NOT really those of Jesus and His family members is more than 100 to 1.

Jesus was a very common name during the time of Christ. Jesus is a variation on the names Joshua, Jeshua, and Jehoshua. The variation would be similar to Robert, Roberto, or Bob. The name, Jesus, in that time would be as common as the names Bill, Tom, or Bob, today. Historians record at least 5 high priests known as Jesus. The historian, Josephus, makes reference to at least twenty people named Jesus. The name Jesus is used over 600 times in the New Testament. Colossians 4:11 refers to Jesus Justus, the friend of Paul. Acts 13:6 refers to the sorcerer at Paphos called Bar-Jesus. Some manuscripts even give Jesus as the first name of Barrabus in Matt. 27:17. So, to find a tomb with the name Jesus on it and conclude it must be Jesus the Christ; would be like finding a tombstone with George on it and concluding it must be George Washington.

Even further, to hear the claims that Jesus' name inscribed on the box demands more credibility would disqualify the so-called "authorities" even further. Archaelogists describe the practice of inscribing names on the burial boxes as being a very common practice in that region of the world during the 1st century. To even further discredit the so-called authorities that are pushing for DNA testing... just who are they going to compare the DNA to? Rational thinking and scientific approaches quickly discredit Cameron and reduce his claims to nothing more than a publicity stunt for his new movie.

Finally, will this shake the faith and foundation of the Church? Absolutely not! If anyone is persuaded by Cameron's claims, their faith was weak to start. To put the claims of Cameron ahead of the Holy Bible, which has been proven to be supernatural, would be ludicrous. It would also be to ignore the teachings and warnings of Jesus found in Matthew 24.