“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever..” Psalm 136:1(NIV)
Matt and I will celebrate our fortieth anniversary in February. On February 19, 1983, we repeated our vows of commitment to each other. “…to have and to hold…for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part.” We both committed our lives to each other without reserve in love. That initial passionate love has cooled down at times due to hardships, conflicts, and the busyness of life. Our individual commitment to the Heavenly Father has been the glue to our relationship. Without our life commitment to put Christ Jesus first and then each other, our marriage might be in disarray.
Our relationship with Christ can be hampered if we lose sight of His commitment to us. The New Testament compares our relationship to Christ as one between a bride and the bridegroom. Throughout the Old Testament, the commitment of God was powerful towards His people. Some of His covenants were conditional and others unconditional. Although the Israelites forsook Him repeatedly, God’s commitment to His people and the promises He made never changed. God was committed to keep His unconditional vows even when the people forsook Him. With His conditional covenants, God’s love and mercy were experienced by His people, as well. In times when the Israelites met the requirements of the covenants, God showered them with His richest blessings, however, when the people broke the covenant, God judged often with extended mercy. Throughout the Bible, those who were committed to nurture their relationship by following God’s ways received His fullest rewards. God in His love is totally committed to us but for us to reap a sweet communion with Him, we must surrender and commit our all to Him!
As in any marriage relationship, when both hearts are committed to love and cherish each other there is harmony. Knowing the commitment and experiencing the blessings of Matt’s love for me in turn compels me to remain committed to him wholeheartedly with my love. We have failed each other at times, but our Heavenly Father cannot and will not fail. If there is a breach in our spiritual relationship, we can be sure that it is not God’s commitment to us but ours to Him. God’s dedication and love for us is enough. His is the ultimate commitment. In return, let’s dedicate our hearts to Him fully.
“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Jude 1:21
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your commitment to love me despite my failures. Forgive me when I fall away from You. Your love and dedication to me is unfathomable and so reassuring in my times of doubt. Thank You for Your many mercies and grace unto salvation. I choose to draw nearer to You and love You with my whole heart. In Jesus’ name – Amen.
I appreciate this even more as I study how often the chosen people of God did not return the same dedication & love back to God. It is one thing to commit to another human, knowing they will fail you at sometime, as you will fail them, merely b/c of our human condition. But that is the point God will not fail us. He can not. He loves us knowing we will fail Him. Hosea 14:4a I will heal their waywardness and love them freely. NIV I am thankful for my God given husband to help me and I him to stay committed to each other b/c of our commitment to God.