RESOLUTION or COMMITMENT?
RESOLUTION or COMMITMENT?
By Tim Klink of Prison Discipleship Ministry
By this time into the New Year most of the “resolutions” have been labeled as “a lot of fun” and have been laid aside into the “I really didn’t mean it” drawer. There they will stay until the next New Year’s Eve, when they will once again be hauled out with great sincerity. While there are a few resolutions that make it past the first few weeks, most are forgotten and make no impact upon our life.
There are so many who make resolutions concerning their relationship with God through Jesus Christ only to find them unfulfilled as time goes on. What does that show you? First, it shows the unstableness of man’s heart, especially in his relationship with God.
Second, it shows that man’s relationship with God through Jesus Christ is not anything that we can decide - apart from the leadership of the Holy Spirit - and it certainly is nothing we can maintain with our own desire or effort.
Our relationship with God is not about us achieving a certain number of duties so as to impress Him, but rather a commitment to humble ourselves before Him, and follow His leadership through His Word.
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
A resolution is proclaiming something that we will do to achieve a certain result. When the resolution is set aside, the result is not gained. For instance, I resolve to lose twenty pounds after Christmas, but then my dear wife hauls out that one remaining container of Christmas cookies. Maybe I’ll start my resolution “next month.” We all know how that one ends!
A commitment is much more than a resolution because it takes the variableness away. A commitment takes place in the heart, whereas a resolution usually only occurs in the mind. When we only resolve to establish a strong relationship with God, anything that comes along will distract us from it. When we commit ourselves to a strong relationship with God, our entire being is submitted to His will through His Word.
Is your relationship with God a resolution or a commitment?
Proverbs 16:3
“Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.”