Commitment to Christ in a Whole 30 age

By Loren Rhoades, Assistant Features Editor

Commitment is a strong word, especially when it comes to committing our time to Jesus. We are a generation who lives off of committing our lives to worldly things, but who can’t seem to commit to a 30-minute quiet time each day.

It’s saddening how much easier it is for society to commit to a diet, an exercise routine or even academic pursuits than it is to commit to our faith.

We spend our days proclaiming everything we do is influenced by our relationship with the Lord, but we struggle to make ourselves just open our Bibles more than once a week.
We seem to be focused constantly on our physical and mental health more than we are our spiritual. This is evident on many college campuses, even
OBU.

If you were to walk around campus and ask 50 students if they had done the Whole-30 diet, over half would say yes. But, if you were to go around and ask the same 50 people if they had read their Bible every day this month, the answer would most likely not be the same.

It is so easy to get caught up in the excuses for not spending time in the word. Excuses like, “I’m too busy”, “I will do it later” or “no one will know if I just skip one day”. But excuses can turn into days, weeks and even years. There should be no excuses for embracing one of the most helpful things in our spiritual walk.

I am not one without blame in this situation, because I struggle with this myself. I am the queen of missing my quiet time, but that is something I want to change. I want that to change because I know how much better I feel when I’m committing that time to the Lord, and I also know how much better my actions are in those times as well.

Don’t get me wrong; I understand how hard it may seem to stick with a steady reading plan, especially when you are in a busy season of your life.

But you can’t give up just because something seems somewhat difficult. If you are able to keep up with the rest of your busy schedule, you should be able to set some time aside each day to spend with the Lord as well.

It’s time to take initiative. It’s time for us Christians to consistently be good examples in our faith. We can exemplify faith in many ways, but perhaps we can start with just being intentional in our personal relationships with the Lord and being intentional about the time we spend focusing on Him every day.

By being consistent in your reading each day you will not only be happier, but you will also be more knowledgeable.

Continually staying in the word can help you to consistently grow a relationship with the Lord while also gaining knowledge of the Bible itself and how you should live your life as a Christian. You just have to stay focused and keep on track.

There are multiple ways to keep on track of course – ways that are super simple and take no time at all. First, set an alarm for a good time in the morning or evening to sit down and read a chapter or two.

Second, find a good devotional. I personally find that I keep up with my quiet times better when I have a set devotional I am going through.

Third, talk about it with others. You will become so much more invested in what you are reading when you are able to share what you are learning.