Final Commitment

Jesus called out with a loud voice: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46

Today is Good Friday, the day believers all over the world commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus. We do so with a mixture of awe, sorrow, gratitude and mystery. It is a moment when we bow down and wonder how a man dying all those centuries ago can make us right with God today in the twenty-first century.

In His dying moments Jesus cried out:”Father into your hands I commit my spirit.” Death was the completion of Jesus’ sacrifice. He had committed Himself to His Father throughout His whole life. As a young lad He told His worried parents (when they were looking for Him and found Him in the temple) that He had to be about His Father’s business. At his baptism, Jesus was dedicating Himself not to His own choice of work, but to God’s. In the wilderness when He was being tempted by the devil, He committed Himself to His Father’s way and at Gethsemane He denied Himself and submitted to God again. All the way through, Jesus said “Yes” to His Father God. He made His mission of salvation for humanity His number one priority.

Good Friday is a suitable time to ask yourself how strong and true your commitment to God is. Whilst you may at some stage have given your life to Christ, have you, like His first disciples at His crucifixion “forsaken Him and fled”? Have the years and painful experiences of life eroded your faith?

Won't you take this opportunity to gaze again at Jesus on the cross and say: “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.”

Source: Faith for Daily Living Guide (March/April 2009)