The choice is Christ
Martha Olawale
“Jesus said unto him, “‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’” Matthew 22:37
Having a daughter ready for college is exciting, but mentally taxing. The thought of dropping her off or leaving her for weeks at a time is difficult for me. However, getting to that point has required navigating different layers of choices, one of which is choosing the college itself. Everything about the school must fit enough for her to want to commit. Visiting them is not my favorite pastime; I mostly leave that duty to my husband to accompany her, but holding her hands as she makes the final choice is at the top of my heart.
After many visits, she narrowed her choices to a few, and I had to go with them for her to make the final choice. At the end of one of the visits, I asked her if she wanted the University’s sweatshirt as a souvenir, and she said no. Knowing her love for sweatshirts, I immediately knew she didn’t like the university, so I asked her why she didn’t want me to buy her the merch. Her response was, “Mum, it’s too much commitment.”
Although we all laughed about it a lot, it got me thinking about my commitment to Christ and the Kingdom, and how that reflects in my daily choices. If Christianity had a merch shop, yes, I’d be proud to wear any shirt with my favorite Bible verses on it, but does that genuinely equal commitment to the tenets of radical love that serve as the foundation of my salvation? No, it does not because my enrollment in surrender at the foot of the cross guarantees my commitment to following Jesus.
Many people treat their offer of salvation as a college visit, believing that leaving the foot of the cross with a merch shirt equals commitment. My daughter thought so, too, concluding that wearing the university’s sweatshirt was too much of a commitment. However, she didn’t understand that until she enrolled in the school and chose them over her other universities, she could have a wardrobe full of their apparel and still attend another university. She had to pick one school, and that required more than spending $20 on a sweatshirt. It’s a choice on which her future relies.
The choice is Christ! When we choose Him, we get more than we deserve. He laid it all down for humanity and opened the door to our salvation, calling us to surrender our doubts, fears, and weaknesses. He said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Salvation is a gift with no strings attached because it helps us to fully immerse ourselves in the joy of walking with God. It’s more than a seeming commitment of an adorned merch shirt; it’s an enrollment that takes our journey with Jesus beyond confusion as we learn from Him. He bids us to come, with all our burden, for His rest, just as we are to become just as God intends.
