What does it mean to commit ourselves to someone, a cause or to God? What is the relationship between commitment and promise? Between commitment and agreement?

In the Old and New Testaments, the concept of commitment is most spoken about within the context of an agreement between God and humans. It begins with a declaration by God, "I will make an agreement with you…" (Genesis 6:18). From the beginning, God is committed to His people unconditionally, and promises to be ever faithful to this commitment. In fact, when the rainbow appears in the clouds, He sees it and remembers "the agreement that continues forever between me and every living thing on the earth" (Genesis 9:16). All God requires of His promise of commitment to each person and to the church as a whole is that we freely respond in faith. And that opportunity for people is through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Commitment is the binding agent for the whole of life and is at the core of a meaningful relationship with God and with our fellow human beings. In its original Hebrew context it means a "duty to serve another person." "God made promises both to Abraham and to his descendant" (Galatians 3:16). Not just Abraham, but the generations who follow, will benefit from the commitment. At its core, commitment is a covenant freely made between God and an individual, or between two persons, and is "firm." "After that agreement is accepted by both people, no one can stop it or add anything to it" (Galatians 3:15). It is a firm promise for the future. Perhaps the nature of commitment in the Scriptures is best summarized by the promise "I will walk with you and be your God, and you will be my people" (Leviticus 26:12).

And so as God has modeled commitment to us from the beginning, and supremely through Jesus Christ, it is just as important a concept between two people, binding and obliging them to each other, for the benefit of each party.

What are the elements that define the nature of commitment between God and human persons, or between people? At the basis of any commitment is love. The act of commitment is ultimately a promise of love freely given. "God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son…" (John 3:16). On the human level, in the Old Testament is the story of David and Jonathan, where it is recorded that "Jonathan made an agreement with David, because he loved David as much as himself" (1 Samuel 18:3). We make commitments out of love and loyalty, and ultimately because God first loved us.

Commitments are rooted in a promise, and are maintained forever on that basis. "God had an agreement with Abraham and promised to keep it," and neither the law or anything else can change that agreement and so destroy God's promise to Abraham (Genesis 13:17). God's promise to the nation of Israel is that He will make them "a great nation, and I will bless you" (Genesis 12:2). Through Jesus Christ, Christians are brought into an agreement with God through Christ our Savior, "as He promised" (Acts 13:23).

Commitment in this context has a permanent and unalterable character to is, whether that be to a person, a cause, or to God. Commitment involves a certain cost. As part of our commitments we surrender individual control over our destiny. We make commitments in marriage, to our children, to our church, and ultimately to Jesus Christ that become binding for the rest of our lives. Like the people He called as His disciples, Jesus calls each of us to follow Him, the essence of commitment (see mark 2:14). This is the "new agreement from God to His people" spoken about in Hebrews 9:15-17). Indeed, whatever firm agreements we make today have positive consequences for the generations who follow, just as they did for Abraham. Ultimately, it is the love-motivated promise at the root of commitment, whether between God and humans, or between people, that is our only hope and guarantee for the future.