100% Heart Commitment
Let me pause for a while from the Perfect World series. This is because something came up. Amid my busyness with my amnesty application to the SEC, CHED S. O. application, Fire Safety Certificate application, and preparation of the basis for a salary increase for the BOT meeting tomorrow, it is as if, my tasks are still not enough, the President of the Student Council approached me to speak for tomorrow's Prayer and Fasting because the Chaplain will not be around.
And so instead of publishing the third part of A Perfect World, I decided to write a message based on the chosen theme of the student body and it is based on the declaration of Prophet Joel in Chapter 2:12:
Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting . . .
Three words captured my attention: return, heart, and all.
I thought of an appropriate title for this text, and I came up with this:
A 100% Heart Commitment
“Return to me with all your heart,” that’s what God requires from the Jews of the prophet Joel's day. Such a requirement remains the same for all time. The Spirit of God that spoke through the prophet Joel is speaking the same message to you and me.
The problem is our heart is deceitful above all things. We might think that we are 100% fully committed to the Lord while at the same time, our hearts are far away from him.
It’s like the story of the two prodigal sons in the New Testament. The youngest son, though by his words and actions has denied his father, but amid the consequences of his bad decisions in life, he came to his senses and reminisced the kind of life he had when he was with his father.
Unlike the real prodigal son, the religious leaders, the Pharisees, and Scribes, the experts in the law, and theological students of today as represented by the eldest son who has always been with his father in person, but his heart is so distant from his father.
If you are a wife and your husband will tell you that he is thinking of you 99% of the time but the remaining 1% is given to another woman, would you agree with that? How about if it is just 0.1%? How about 0.001% for another woman and 99.999% of his heart is committed to you, will you accept it?
The same thing with God. The greatest commandment in the law is to love God with your all, meaning 100% of your heart, soul, and mind.
And then the prophet mentioned first, “Even now”. What does it mean? It does mean that 100% heart commitment to the Lord is not something to be delayed. It is something urgent, something immediate, something that must be done “now.”
Have you made such a 100% heart commitment to the Lord? I am not asking about what happened in the past. I am asking what is going on in your heart right now. Yes, you might have committed your heart to the Lord in the past 100% but for some reason, such a whole-hearted commitment is no longer there. Whatever that reason is, whether it is something soul-shaking, heart-breaking, and seemingly world-ending story, the Lord’s call doesn’t change. He is calling you and me to return to him 100%.
I love this poetic reflection from AI:
In the hush of ancient verses, a timeless plea resounds,
"Even now," whispers the divine, in love, our hearts confounds.
"Return," the Lord beseeches, with every fiber of your soul,
In fasting, weeping, and mourning, let your wayward spirit be whole.
Not mere ritual, not empty show, His call runs deep and true,
A yearning for the core of us, a transformation due.
"Rend your heart," He softly cries, in tones of gentle grace,
Strip away the ego's mask, and reveal your innermost space.
Cast aside the fleeting veils, the garments stitched with pride,
For God desires authenticity, where no secrets can hide.
"Return to Me," His voice implores, in echoes through the night,
No sin too vast, no heart too scarred, to bask in Heaven’s light.
What is the meaning of 100% heart commitment?
In the realm of relationships, 100% heart commitment is the bedrock of enduring bonds. It’s not merely a verbal expression of love; it's a continuous series of actions that demonstrate our commitment to the well-being and happiness of our loved ones. It involves active listening, unwavering support, and the willingness to adapt and grow together, nurturing the relationship with care and affection.
In the case of our relationship with God, 100% heart commitment does not mean merely a casual adherence to religious rituals or occasional prayers. It’s a kind of dedication that permeates every aspect of life.
When God demands 100% commitment, He is calling for wholehearted devotion. It's a commitment that goes beyond the walls of the worship place, into the depths of our souls. It’s about aligning our thoughts, words, and deeds with the divine will. This commitment requires us to surrender our ego, desires, and fears entirely, trusting in God’s wisdom and love.
If your heart is truly 100% heart committed to the Lord, it will be tested in the fire of trial and adversity. It’s one thing to praise God when everything in your life turns out as you expect and quite another thing when something you cannot explain, something ugly, something tragic happens to your life.
100% heart commitment shines amidst trials. It is expressed through unwavering trust in God’s plan even when life seems impossible to bear. Those whose hearts are 100% committed to God find no other strength except from the grace of God, transforming destructive situations into opportunities for growth and productivity.
A person whose heart is committed to God 100% acknowledges that every blessing, every breath, is a divine gift. In the face of 100% heart commitment, pride and arrogance have no place and are replaced instead by a deep sense of gratitude for God’s grace.
Finally, a 100% heart commitment to God isn’t a one-time decision but a lifelong journey. Interestingly, this call to a 100% heart commitment is declared in the context of fasting. I love how John Calvin viewed the Christian life as a whole as a kind of fasting, a kind of perpetual commitment “tempered with frugality and sobriety” (Institutes of Christian Religion, Section 18, p. 987). As for him, abstaining from food is a “temporary fast;” whereas the Christian life is a permanent fast.
Though Calvin interprets the Christian life as a perpetual fasting, he still agrees that a temporal fast like what we are doing today is useful and has a biblical basis both in the practices of the prophets and the apostles. What he doesn’t like is to turn fasting into a kind of superstition just like what the Roman Catholics and other religions are doing. He calls temporal fast “holy and lawful” if these three goals are present: mortification of the flesh, a better preparation for prayer and holy meditation, and to humble ourselves in confessing our guilt before God (Section 15, p. 985) and these can only be done by people whose hearts are 100% committed unto the Lord. Amen!