© 1999 Rev. Gregory Young
© 1999 The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book
I should like to pose a rhetorical question: “Do you think that the only life worth living is one based on truth and dedicated to loving God and humankind?” Many of us would probably agree that this is a noble ideal. In the light of this ideal, look at your life and bring to mind everything that you are wholeheartedly committed to. What are you really willing to make sacrifices for?
The worthwhile things of our world are the result of the activities of truly committed people, people passionately dedicated to their work, to each other, to beliefs, and causes. Have you ever attempted to do something that your heart wasn’t really into doing? How did it turn out? How well did you do it? It doesn’t really work if we don’t fully consecrate ourselves to doing something. How many of us kind of “dabble around the edges of life,” and don’t make commitments because we feel the personal price we might have to pay is just too high?
The worthwhile things of our world are the result of the activities of truly committed people, people passionately dedicated to their work, to each other, to beliefs, and causes.
In a sense Jesus shows us by his life and tells us in his teachings that the only life worth living is a life lived with passionate commitment. In order to really feel alive you have to first be committed to something. Jesus said that we must be willing to lose our life in order to find it. In other words, it is only as we invest ourselves fully, only when and where we make total commitments that we find the abundant, worthwhile life.
Francis Parkman, the American historian, is an example of amazing commitment. During the greater part of his life he suffered so acutely that he could not work for more than five minutes at a time. Parkman’s eyesight was so wretched that he could only scrawl a few gigantic words on a manuscript at a time, yet he contrived to write twenty magnificent volumes of history! This achievement, obviously, took total commitment for a severely handicapped man. As we observe people like Francis Parkman, we might wonder how various aspects of our life that did not turn out so well might have been changed had we been more committed. We usually get out of life what we put into it.
How many of you have computers in your home? How many of you know how to use them? Now I know that some of you are real computer experts. You have made significant commitments in learning how computers work and have a deep appreciation for what they can do. But many of us kind of “dabble around the edges.” And some of us won’t even venture to turn it on; it is just too intimidating, too difficult we assume. For those of us who have overcome this initial reluctance and have started using computers, we are amazed how things begin to fall into place. This is true of all of life. It takes courageous commitment to grow in knowledge and achievement.
This necessity of commitment is especially true in spiritual growth. Half-hearted faith and hesitating devotion is unavailing. It is only when we really invest ourselves in faith, in making spiritual realities the centerpiece in our lives that we grow from that experience. How many of us tend to compartmentalize our lives? We worship God on Sunday, but when Monday rolls around we kind of stick the spiritual aspects of our lives in another compartment — that is, until we get into a tough spot.
Authentic spiritual commitment requires us to make spiritual realities an integral part of all of our life and experience. We need not, however, wear religion on our sleeves; but live it in our heart, at the core of our being. Let it be the source and center of who we are; let it guide us and support and strengthen every aspect of our life. When we dedicate ourselves to doing the will of God, when we give God all that we have, then does God make us more than we are. This becomes a wonderful partnership with God that enriches every aspect of our lives.
Commitment in living action becomes persistence. To carry out our commitment we must become persistent in our action. Dogged persistence is the key to accomplishment — which reminds me of a bulldog story. One morning a husband and wife were sitting in their kitchen having their morning cup of coffee looking into their back yard where they kept a couple of large hunting dogs. Their dogs started barking and they took a closer look to see what was causing their dogs to get so excited. They saw a little old bulldog coming down the alley by their yard. The bulldog squeezed himself under the fence into their yard, and immediately their two hunting dogs tore into the little bulldog. After a while the bulldog was able to crawl back under the fence and went snorting his way back up the alley to lick his wounds.
The very next morning at the same time, that little bulldog came back down the alley, crawled under the fence with the same result. After the bulldog had had enough, he crawled back under the fence and went snorting back up the alley once again to lick his wounds. The following morning the husband had to leave town for a few days on a business engagement and when he returned he inquired about the little bulldog.
“It was amazing,” his wife said, “every day that little bulldog would come down the alley and into our yard with the same result. Then one day when the little bulldog came snorting down the alley, our dogs whined and retreated to our back porch — they had had enough. And that little bulldog squeezed himself under the fence and strutted around our back yard like he owned the place.” Sometimes bulldog persistence can make our dreams come true in spite of overwhelming odds.
Only living faith can give us strength to persist, to persevere when everything else tells us to quit. The indwelling presence of God is our eternal resource, a strength beyond our strength. Knowing that God is our steady companion, our partner, our strength and guide as we struggle with the problems of living can give us comfort and inspiration. Allowing the Spirit of God to bring forth the vision of the real motive, the final aim and eternal purpose of this sometimes difficult struggle of life can sustain us and give deep meaning to our days and years.
The folklore surrounding Poland’s famous concert pianist and prime minister, Ignace Paderewski, relates the story of a mother, wishing to encourage her young son’s progress at the piano, bought tickets for a Padereweski performance. When the night arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and observed the majestic Steinway waiting on the stage.
Soon the mother found a friend to talk to and the boy slipped away. When eight o’clock arrived, the spotlights came on, the audience quieted, and only then did the mother notice her son on the stage sitting on the piano bench innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. “Don’t quit-keep playing, ” he whispered to the boy. Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the base part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.
In our lives, unpolished as though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and again, “Don’t quit — keep playing.” And as we do, he augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created. When you are discouraged and feel like quitting, turn to the indwelling presence of God. Be aware that God supports and surrounds you in your efforts. God is there to whisper words of encouragement in your heart, to help you get up and on the road of life again. God surrounds us in love and says, "Don’t stop! Keep playing!
Let us, therefore, go forward as spiritual pioneers; learning to feast upon life’s uncertainties, to fatten upon disappointment, to even enthuse and be undaunted by apparent defeat, to invigorate in the presence of difficulties, to exhibit indomitable courage in the face of immensity, and to exercise unconquerable faith when confronted with the challenge of the inexplicable. Let our life-long battle cry be: “In liaison with God, nothing, absolutely nothing is impossible!”
Gregory Young is pastor of St. John United Church of Christ in Germantown, Wisconsin.