"Under the Influence"
Acts 17:10-15
Otis wakes up with a horrible hangover and a throbbing black eye. The first thing he sees is a single rose on the side table and a note from his wife: “Dear, breakfast is made. I’ve gone shopping to make you your favorite dinner tonight. I love you!” He stumbles to the kitchen and, sure enough, there’s breakfast. “Joe,” he says to his teenaged son, “what happened last night?”
“You came home soused and got that black eye tripping over a chair,” Joe explains. “So why the rose and the breakfast and the sweet note from your mother?” questions Otis. “Oh, that,” Joe says. “Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take off your clothes, you screamed, ‘Leave me alone! I'm married!’”
Regardless of how badly you mess up, you’re at least heading in the right direction when commitment is an ingrained part of your character! Every one of us is going to live under the influence of something, and the Bible teaches that the best lives are lived under the best influence—and that best influence is a stalwartly upright character guided by God’s Holy Spirit. Our job is to be committed, but why are we so afraid of it? We really shouldn’t be. Indeed, there are certain characteristics so inherent to Christianity that to neglect them is to become a walking oxymoron. And a Christian without commitment is such an oxymoron.
And yet one of the most prominent and deadly maladies growing steadily in society today as well as in the church is that people are far less willing to commit to anything. Whether we’re talking about career, marriage, or faith, they don’t want to pledge or devote themselves to anything. In studies of young adults, most have been with their current employer for less than a year; they’re floundering when it comes to embracing a calling. Marriage especially has suffered, and it’s not just the divorce rate. People are getting married later than ever—if at all. A PBS documentary, Generation Next, gave some insight into why: desire for adventure, career advancement, and prolonged adolescence. Illicit sex and living together is on the rise by leaps and bounds while marital commitment is faltering at the same rate.
Lack of commitment is also hitting the church hard. Studies suggest that the smart phone generation is choosing which aspects of the faith they like best to create their own unique spiritual playlists. Many have no sense of community or social obligation. They see the world as a fragmented place of choice and freedom that yields little meaning or comfort. They believe the individual is the only source of meaning. There’s an almost uninterrupted march toward self-focus, affecting all institutions but especially crippling work, marriage, and faith. Such an attitude, if prolonged, will totally unravel not only the church but the larger society as well.
For the basic building blocks of society itself erode without commitment. Any sensible society has to address this problem by pointing out to its people that commitment is the very essence of human relationships. And since this erosion has been happening even in the church, maybe the church ought to be the place where it starts getting turned around. Think about it: How can you grow as a Christian without dying to self and total commitment to Jesus Christ? With any bare minimal knowledge of the Bible, we know that’s what it ultimately teaches.
And that leads us back to these new believers in the city of Berea. When Luke, the writer of the Book of Acts, makes a complimentary statement about the character of a group of people, we’d do well to both examine that character trait and seek to emulate it. And he explains that it was the Bereans’ eagerness to hear from God and respond to what they heard that made them noble. They expressed an attitude of humble receptivity that lies at the heart of faith. You could say their integrity lay in their admitting their need for mercy, which resulted in their eagerness to hear from God and to receive what they heard. They stepped down from their pedestals as people of high standing or as people of high Jewish heritage and, like hungry children in need of food, sought God’s Word—which resulted in their salvation. Frankly, it’s this specific trait that lies at the heart of nobility for all people—not just for new believers but also for those who’ve been Christians for a very long time.
The very essence of your walk with Christ is to have an attitude—a commitment—that leads you back to the Scriptures to learn more and to grow. For just as you come to salvation by faith and commitment, so do you grow in the Christian life by faith and commitment. When we read and study the Bible, it’s not some meritorious service through which we claim we’ve done our spiritual duty. Bible study that pleases God is an experience of faith. It’s an attitude that prays, “I’m needy, and You alone can satisfy my need. You’ve spoken a message, and it’s recorded here. I will go to Your book as a hungry baby seeks his mother for milk.”
The Bereans searched the Scriptures for themselves to verify the message they heard. Yes, they were checking out the apostle Paul to see if what he was saying was true! And the thing is, Paul didn’t mind. He had no desire for them to be committed to himself; he yearned for them to be committed to the Lord—and that through their deep examination of His Word. You can base your whole life on this Bible, but you have to delve into it yourself. A Sunday morning message once a week just isn’t enough. You can’t say that you’re committed to your family if all you do is listen to what someone else tells you about them for an hour or two a week. To get intimate with God, you have to get intimate with His Word.
The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Every morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson, who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could. But one day the boy confessed, “Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you do, but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. So what good does reading the Bible do?” Grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and out of the blue said, “Son, could you take this coal basket down to the creek and bring me back a basket of water.” The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house.
Grandpa laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the creek with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he turned to get a bucket instead. But the old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do it, son. You’re just not trying hard enough.”
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to prove to his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back up the hill. So the boy scooped in the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Papa, it’s useless!” Smiling down at his grandson, the old man said, “So you think it’s useless? Look here at the basket.” The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that it looked quite a bit different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. “Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it’ll change you from the inside out. That’s the work of the good Lord in our lives: To change us from the inside out and gradually make us into the image of His Son.”
The Bereans were open- and fair-minded. They weren’t locked in to some political philosophy or systematic theology. They didn’t accept the message just because they heard it from Paul. They investigated it; they tested it to see if it lined up with God’s Word. I pray you’ll do the same. Always compare what you hear and see with what the Bible says. Even systematic theologians often get the notion that they know everything the Bible teaches—that they’ve figured God out and know how He’s supposed to work—and then try to pass it off to you as orthodox truth. Instead of letting the Bible shape their belief and behavior, they form their belief and behavior first and then try to make the Bible fit to how they think God should do His job. If you don’t examine the Scriptures yourself, you’ll likely fall into the trap of buying all the answers that other people give to the questions they ask themselves; you’ll snack on predigested junk food instead of eating a hardy nutritious meal.
So remember this: When we refuse to commit—to God, to His Word, and to each other—we miss out on one of the greatest joys of life. When we obsess over ourselves, we lose the meaning of life, which is to love the Lord and love our neighbors. By abandoning commitment, our culture loses the one thing it desperately seeks: happiness. Without commitment, our lives are barren and sterile; without commitment, our lives lack meaning and purpose. I can vouch for this truth. The lowest points of my life were when I was most selfish—when I sought my own way all on my own; the highest points of my life, on the other hand, have been when I was most compassionate—when I was giving myself to others.
With commitment comes the flourishing of society—of calling, of marriage, of the church—and of our hearts. It’s the same paradox Jesus asks when he bids us to come and die that we might truly live. Live under the influence of God’s Word—under the influence of His Holy Spirit. Be committed. And a blessed, happy joyfulness will come to you that you’ll never ever find by seeking it on your own.
Let us pray: Lord, show us the need to be in Your Word, then guide our lives by Your message we find revealed there. By Your Spirit and Your Word, show us how to live; throw Your beam of light on our dark path. For Your glory, we pray.
Acts 17:10-15
Otis wakes up with a horrible hangover and a throbbing black eye. The first thing he sees is a single rose on the side table and a note from his wife: “Dear, breakfast is made. I’ve gone shopping to make you your favorite dinner tonight. I love you!” He stumbles to the kitchen and, sure enough, there’s breakfast. “Joe,” he says to his teenaged son, “what happened last night?”
“You came home soused and got that black eye tripping over a chair,” Joe explains. “So why the rose and the breakfast and the sweet note from your mother?” questions Otis. “Oh, that,” Joe says. “Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take off your clothes, you screamed, ‘Leave me alone! I'm married!’”
Regardless of how badly you mess up, you’re at least heading in the right direction when commitment is an ingrained part of your character! Every one of us is going to live under the influence of something, and the Bible teaches that the best lives are lived under the best influence—and that best influence is a stalwartly upright character guided by God’s Holy Spirit. Our job is to be committed, but why are we so afraid of it? We really shouldn’t be. Indeed, there are certain characteristics so inherent to Christianity that to neglect them is to become a walking oxymoron. And a Christian without commitment is such an oxymoron.
And yet one of the most prominent and deadly maladies growing steadily in society today as well as in the church is that people are far less willing to commit to anything. Whether we’re talking about career, marriage, or faith, they don’t want to pledge or devote themselves to anything. In studies of young adults, most have been with their current employer for less than a year; they’re floundering when it comes to embracing a calling. Marriage especially has suffered, and it’s not just the divorce rate. People are getting married later than ever—if at all. A PBS documentary, Generation Next, gave some insight into why: desire for adventure, career advancement, and prolonged adolescence. Illicit sex and living together is on the rise by leaps and bounds while marital commitment is faltering at the same rate.
Lack of commitment is also hitting the church hard. Studies suggest that the smart phone generation is choosing which aspects of the faith they like best to create their own unique spiritual playlists. Many have no sense of community or social obligation. They see the world as a fragmented place of choice and freedom that yields little meaning or comfort. They believe the individual is the only source of meaning. There’s an almost uninterrupted march toward self-focus, affecting all institutions but especially crippling work, marriage, and faith. Such an attitude, if prolonged, will totally unravel not only the church but the larger society as well.
For the basic building blocks of society itself erode without commitment. Any sensible society has to address this problem by pointing out to its people that commitment is the very essence of human relationships. And since this erosion has been happening even in the church, maybe the church ought to be the place where it starts getting turned around. Think about it: How can you grow as a Christian without dying to self and total commitment to Jesus Christ? With any bare minimal knowledge of the Bible, we know that’s what it ultimately teaches.
And that leads us back to these new believers in the city of Berea. When Luke, the writer of the Book of Acts, makes a complimentary statement about the character of a group of people, we’d do well to both examine that character trait and seek to emulate it. And he explains that it was the Bereans’ eagerness to hear from God and respond to what they heard that made them noble. They expressed an attitude of humble receptivity that lies at the heart of faith. You could say their integrity lay in their admitting their need for mercy, which resulted in their eagerness to hear from God and to receive what they heard. They stepped down from their pedestals as people of high standing or as people of high Jewish heritage and, like hungry children in need of food, sought God’s Word—which resulted in their salvation. Frankly, it’s this specific trait that lies at the heart of nobility for all people—not just for new believers but also for those who’ve been Christians for a very long time.
The very essence of your walk with Christ is to have an attitude—a commitment—that leads you back to the Scriptures to learn more and to grow. For just as you come to salvation by faith and commitment, so do you grow in the Christian life by faith and commitment. When we read and study the Bible, it’s not some meritorious service through which we claim we’ve done our spiritual duty. Bible study that pleases God is an experience of faith. It’s an attitude that prays, “I’m needy, and You alone can satisfy my need. You’ve spoken a message, and it’s recorded here. I will go to Your book as a hungry baby seeks his mother for milk.”
The Bereans searched the Scriptures for themselves to verify the message they heard. Yes, they were checking out the apostle Paul to see if what he was saying was true! And the thing is, Paul didn’t mind. He had no desire for them to be committed to himself; he yearned for them to be committed to the Lord—and that through their deep examination of His Word. You can base your whole life on this Bible, but you have to delve into it yourself. A Sunday morning message once a week just isn’t enough. You can’t say that you’re committed to your family if all you do is listen to what someone else tells you about them for an hour or two a week. To get intimate with God, you have to get intimate with His Word.
The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Every morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson, who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could. But one day the boy confessed, “Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you do, but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. So what good does reading the Bible do?” Grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and out of the blue said, “Son, could you take this coal basket down to the creek and bring me back a basket of water.” The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house.
Grandpa laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the creek with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he turned to get a bucket instead. But the old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do it, son. You’re just not trying hard enough.”
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to prove to his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back up the hill. So the boy scooped in the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Papa, it’s useless!” Smiling down at his grandson, the old man said, “So you think it’s useless? Look here at the basket.” The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that it looked quite a bit different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. “Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it’ll change you from the inside out. That’s the work of the good Lord in our lives: To change us from the inside out and gradually make us into the image of His Son.”
The Bereans were open- and fair-minded. They weren’t locked in to some political philosophy or systematic theology. They didn’t accept the message just because they heard it from Paul. They investigated it; they tested it to see if it lined up with God’s Word. I pray you’ll do the same. Always compare what you hear and see with what the Bible says. Even systematic theologians often get the notion that they know everything the Bible teaches—that they’ve figured God out and know how He’s supposed to work—and then try to pass it off to you as orthodox truth. Instead of letting the Bible shape their belief and behavior, they form their belief and behavior first and then try to make the Bible fit to how they think God should do His job. If you don’t examine the Scriptures yourself, you’ll likely fall into the trap of buying all the answers that other people give to the questions they ask themselves; you’ll snack on predigested junk food instead of eating a hardy nutritious meal.
So remember this: When we refuse to commit—to God, to His Word, and to each other—we miss out on one of the greatest joys of life. When we obsess over ourselves, we lose the meaning of life, which is to love the Lord and love our neighbors. By abandoning commitment, our culture loses the one thing it desperately seeks: happiness. Without commitment, our lives are barren and sterile; without commitment, our lives lack meaning and purpose. I can vouch for this truth. The lowest points of my life were when I was most selfish—when I sought my own way all on my own; the highest points of my life, on the other hand, have been when I was most compassionate—when I was giving myself to others.
With commitment comes the flourishing of society—of calling, of marriage, of the church—and of our hearts. It’s the same paradox Jesus asks when he bids us to come and die that we might truly live. Live under the influence of God’s Word—under the influence of His Holy Spirit. Be committed. And a blessed, happy joyfulness will come to you that you’ll never ever find by seeking it on your own.
Let us pray: Lord, show us the need to be in Your Word, then guide our lives by Your message we find revealed there. By Your Spirit and Your Word, show us how to live; throw Your beam of light on our dark path. For Your glory, we pray.
