”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”“
Mark 12:30-31
Committed.
What are you committed to?
God?
Church?
A biblical worldview?
Sports?
Job?
Family?
According to Barna research, “More than seven out of ten Americans (72%) claim they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today. But a survey examining some of the other commitments that adults make – and avoid – suggests that people are inconsistent in their spiritual perspectives.”
So seven out of ten Americans claim a personal relationship to Jesus? Barna goes on to say, only 17% of adults say, “a person’s faith is meant to be developed mainly by involvement in a local church.” That’s a staggering difference in percentage isn’t it? I mean 7 out of 10 adults say they have that commitment to Christ but 17% when it comes to church involvement.
Jesus gave His all on the cross. He also mentions the word “all” four times in the above text. All means all. Total devotion and commitment to God is what we are called to do and who we are to be. Devotion to God is another interesting section of this survey. Look at what Barna goes onto say, “A slight majority of Americans (54%) said they are so committed to “having a deeper connection with God” that they would “do whatever it takes to get and maintain that deeper relationship.” Adults 40 and younger were the least devoted to this outcome: less than half (44%) strongly affirmed such a commitment, compared to 58% of Boomers and 63% of older adults.”
Wow. So are we really committed to God or committed to the idea of God? This is mind boggling to me. What happened to the mindset of, Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe? We can sing about this commitment, but living it out in reality is a whole different deal. Jesus forgave us of all sin. That should be enough for us to go all in for Him as well as want to be more like Him with our lives.
Barna goes into mention that, “one out of four adults possess a biblical worldview.” That’s 25% if you’re keeping up with the math. Shouldn’t having a biblical worldview be a given for the follower of Jesus? One of the issues, in my opinion, is that most believers don’t spend time in the Word so this stat shouldn’t surprise us. Is it just to the point that if we get our Sunday morning check in at the church for an hour or so, that’s good enough? Yet we spend so much time doing other things. An old stat that I saw years ago said, “most Christian’s spend less than ten minutes in the Word in a day.” No wonder we see so many churches either at a plateau or in decline. Church attendance and an overall biblical worldview doesn’t seem to be a priority for the seven out of ten.
What would happen in our nation if we truly lived out Mark 12:30-31? I mean we haven’t even got to the neighbor part yet. Total devotion to God and loving our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. I tell you what would happen, revival. Churches would be full. Lost people would want to be like those that “love them as theirselves.” School environments would change. Work environments would change. Neighborhoods would change. Hate would cease. Christ would abound. Are we past this in our nation? Is it too late? Maybe it’s time that our devotion and love for Almighty God radiates to a lost world that is in chaos. Maybe it’s time that we love our neighbors and show them the One that’s greater than all. Jesus.
”Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.“
Proverbs 16:3
Mark 12:30-31
Committed.
What are you committed to?
God?
Church?
A biblical worldview?
Sports?
Job?
Family?
According to Barna research, “More than seven out of ten Americans (72%) claim they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today. But a survey examining some of the other commitments that adults make – and avoid – suggests that people are inconsistent in their spiritual perspectives.”
So seven out of ten Americans claim a personal relationship to Jesus? Barna goes on to say, only 17% of adults say, “a person’s faith is meant to be developed mainly by involvement in a local church.” That’s a staggering difference in percentage isn’t it? I mean 7 out of 10 adults say they have that commitment to Christ but 17% when it comes to church involvement.
Jesus gave His all on the cross. He also mentions the word “all” four times in the above text. All means all. Total devotion and commitment to God is what we are called to do and who we are to be. Devotion to God is another interesting section of this survey. Look at what Barna goes onto say, “A slight majority of Americans (54%) said they are so committed to “having a deeper connection with God” that they would “do whatever it takes to get and maintain that deeper relationship.” Adults 40 and younger were the least devoted to this outcome: less than half (44%) strongly affirmed such a commitment, compared to 58% of Boomers and 63% of older adults.”
Wow. So are we really committed to God or committed to the idea of God? This is mind boggling to me. What happened to the mindset of, Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe? We can sing about this commitment, but living it out in reality is a whole different deal. Jesus forgave us of all sin. That should be enough for us to go all in for Him as well as want to be more like Him with our lives.
Barna goes into mention that, “one out of four adults possess a biblical worldview.” That’s 25% if you’re keeping up with the math. Shouldn’t having a biblical worldview be a given for the follower of Jesus? One of the issues, in my opinion, is that most believers don’t spend time in the Word so this stat shouldn’t surprise us. Is it just to the point that if we get our Sunday morning check in at the church for an hour or so, that’s good enough? Yet we spend so much time doing other things. An old stat that I saw years ago said, “most Christian’s spend less than ten minutes in the Word in a day.” No wonder we see so many churches either at a plateau or in decline. Church attendance and an overall biblical worldview doesn’t seem to be a priority for the seven out of ten.
What would happen in our nation if we truly lived out Mark 12:30-31? I mean we haven’t even got to the neighbor part yet. Total devotion to God and loving our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. I tell you what would happen, revival. Churches would be full. Lost people would want to be like those that “love them as theirselves.” School environments would change. Work environments would change. Neighborhoods would change. Hate would cease. Christ would abound. Are we past this in our nation? Is it too late? Maybe it’s time that our devotion and love for Almighty God radiates to a lost world that is in chaos. Maybe it’s time that we love our neighbors and show them the One that’s greater than all. Jesus.
”Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.“
Proverbs 16:3
In Him,
-Ryan Young
Collegiate Minister
-Ryan Young
Collegiate Minister
Posted in Ryan Young
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