Real Commitment
Alan Smith via BulletinGold.com

During a confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia in 1964, a group of Gurkhas from Nepal were asked if they would be willing to jump from transport planes into combat if the need arose. The Gurkhas had the right to turn down the request because they had never been trained as paratroopers.

The Gurkhas usually agreed to anything, but on this occasion they rejected the plan. However, the next day they sought out the British officer who made the request and said they had reconsidered and were prepared to jump under the following conditions: The ground was marshy or reasonably soft with no rocky outcrops and they wanted the plane to fly as slowly as possible at no more than 100 feet high.

The British officer assured the Gurkhas that all these conditions could be met except one. To jump from only 100 feet was impossible, because the parachutes would not open in time from that height. Then the Gurkhas said, "Oh, will we be wearing parachutes? You didn't mention parachutes before. In that case we'll jump anywhere with parachutes!"

When I read that story, I can't help but compare the commitment those men had with the commitment that we ought to have to Christ. Here is a group of people so committed to their leaders that they were actually willing to jump out of an airplane from 100 feet without a parachute! And yet, that's the kind of commitment that God expects from His people – a willingness to go anywhere, do anything, even if it means giving up our lives.

When God asks us to do something, our immediate reaction is often to ask, "How much time will I have to give up?" or "How much money will it cost me?" The faith of Abraham in being willing to give up his only son seems foreign to us. We are so resistant to giving everything to God.

But Jesus says: "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." ( Matthew 16:24-25 )

When God says jump, our only response should be, "From how high?"