Hymns of Christian Commitment

By John Zehring

Each chapter of “Hymns of Christian Commitment” celebrates the lyrics to hymns about a person’s commitment to God, provides information about the author, and offers reflections about what it means to put God first. Jesus emphasized the word first when he encouraged his followers to “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

What is Christian commitment? Following Jesus becomes a choice of life priorities. It is a decision to put God first. There can be a second, third, and many more priorities, but God is chosen first to claim our attention, time, gifts, creativity, and sacrifice. It is a death, of sorts, of our old self but a rebirth of our new self, in him. “Hymns of Christian Commitment” contains some of the hymns, stories, and messages of those who sing songs like “Take my life, and let it be, Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.” These hymns constitute the music of those who would invite God into the heart and treat God as an honored guest.

Other books about hymns written by John Zehring include
“Music of the Spheres: Hymns on Loving and Tending the Earth,”
“Hymns of Peace,” and
“Be Still My Soul: Soothing Hymn Meditations.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Zehring
• Release date: Jun 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463497432

John Zehring

John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta) and as an Interim Pastor in Massachusetts (Arlington, Harvard). Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education, primarily in development and institutional advancement. He worked as a dean of students, director of career planning and placement, adjunct professor of public speaking and as a vice president at a seminary and at a college. He is the author of more than sixty books and is a regular writer for The Christian Citizen, an American Baptist social justice publication. He has taught Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Educational Psychology and Church Administration. John was the founding editor of the publication Seminary Development News, a publication for seminary presidents, vice presidents and trustees (published by the Association of Theological Schools, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment). He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. He is listed in Marquis' WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA and is a recipient of their Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. John and his wife Donna live in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.

Book preview

Hymns of Christian Commitment

John Zehring

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Copyright 2020 John Zehring

Introduction

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…"

Matthew 6:33a, KJV

"When Christ calls a man,

he bids him come and die."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

From The Cost of Discipleship.

When Christ calls a woman,

he bids her come and die.

Each chapter of Hymns of Christian Commitment reviews the lyrics to hymns about a person’s commitment to God, provides information about the author, and offers reflections about what it means to put God first.

I wrote another book about hymns which provides soothing messages of comfort titled Be Still My Soul: Soothing Hymn Meditations. There were many to choose from.

Then I wrote a book about hymns which provided messages about the earth, nature, and the environment, calling us to a heightened sense of stewardship over God’s creation which God entrusts to us, titled Music of the Spheres: Hymns on Loving and Tending the Earth. There were fewer, but some good ones to choose from.

Then I wrote a book about hymns titled Hymns of Peace. There were fewer yet, but some which encourage us to make peace and call us to be ambassadors for God’s peace.

In this book are hymns about our commitment to God and to Christ. The choices are plentiful. If the quantity of hymns gives any indication about favorite themes, Christian commitment and discipleship rank extremely high as a measure of our faith and faithfulness. This speaks highly for followers who truly desire to be faithful children of God, as revealed in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

The Bonhoeffer quote at the top can sound shocking: When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. Today, most likely, Bonhoeffer would make that inclusive… When Christ calls a person, he bids that person to come and die. Die? Die! The quote comes from his book The Cost of Discipleship, whose title alone signals the clear message that there is a cost to following Jesus. Jesus said as much when he bid those who would follow him to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. Cross? Cross! This is serious business, with a high cost, perhaps the highest cost… our lives. Am I… are you… prepared to make this leap of faith?

This is extreme Christianity. So is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. This section of scripture is one of the best anthologies of Jesus’ key messages found in one place. It is essentially his orientation of the twelve disciples, preparing them for the work that would come. He began with the Beatitudes, which initially appears to be a lovely description of people who are trying to be faithful to God. Some called these the Beautiful Attitudes. But then, the teachings morphed into a form of extreme Christianity as Jesus began to make plain his intent that followers put God first in their lives. Jesus emphasized the word first in the next chapter when he encouraged his disciples to Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33). To be a follower, he made clear, is more than an avocation, interest or activity. It is first and central in the life of one who believes. To everyone who might think of himself or herself as a Christian, this teaching requires a re-evaluation of total life values. What do you put first? Consider this question: "What do I invite into my soul and treat as an honored guest?" Jesus proposed extreme Christianity to his new disciples when he suggested that the best answer is to invite God into the heart and to treat God as an honored guest.

The call to commitment continues, in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in what might be considered the most Christian verse in the bible: You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)

In this, Jesus stands alone. To encourage followers to love their enemies is rare among major world religions. Other faiths may encourage kindness or mercy to your adversaries, but love? This may be the most Christian verse in the bible.

There are different kinds of love spoken of in the bible. There is family love, brotherly love, romantic love, and agape love. The last is the word used here which is best translated as to desire truly that which is in the highest and best interest of the other. Especially in this verse, it might be considered Christian love.

If someone were to ask you to make a list of your enemies, would you have a long list? For some, it is difficult to think of even one or two people to name as an enemy. There may be some people whom you wouldn’t mind if they took a long walk of a short pier, but enemies? Adversaries? Once more, here is extreme Christianity: to desire truly that which is in the highest and best interest of all… extended to the ones you like least. It does not actually say that you have to like your enemies, invite them out to lunch, feel warm affection for them, enjoy being in their company, or add them to your Facebook page. In the classic simplicity of Jesus, it simply says to love them. That does not come naturally. To follow this teaching will require a change of the heart and a determination of the will to wish for enemies that which is in their highest and best interests.

This is the utmost of extreme Christianity: God wants to be first in your life. The overall message of Jesus is that God wants to be #1 in your life. Not second place. Not what is left over. Not when there is time. Not just another item on your list of activities, interests, hobbies or memberships. Not only when you have a problem. The first priority for followers is to "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness." (Matthew 6:33, KJV). First means only one thing. There is no other way to interpret it. It means what it says. That is the message of Jesus which undergirds everything else he said.

Something is going to own you. No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Jesus is not condemning his disciples for enjoying the finer things of life. He did not prescribe poverty as a pre-requisite to following him. He did not require an ascetic lifestyle for those who love God. He again offers a divine observation, as if to say This is the way it is, friends: Something is going to own you.

You can have