Complete Commitment
There is a story told about Ivan the Great who ruled Russia as Czar in the 15th century. He was a warrior, a fighter, and a conqueror of kingdoms. Ivan was so busy doing battle that his advisers had to tell him he had to get married and have a family so that there would be an heir Ivan said “I want to do battle and to conquer more territory, you go find a wife for me.”
Ivan's men found a wife for him from the daughter of the king of Greece, a beautiful girl. They said to Ivan, “We found a wife for you, but there's one problem.” “What's that?” he asked.
“If you're going to marry her, you have to be Greek Orthodox,” they said. Ivan the Great said, “Well, if you think she'd make a good wife for me, that's no problem, I could be Greek Orthodox.”
The Greeks sent tutors to Russia to tutor Ivan and 500 of his elite soldiers, everyone a great warrior. The soldiers required tutoring because Ivan said, “If I'm going to be Greek Orthodox, they're going to be Greek Orthodox.”
They tutored all these men in the Greek Orthodox faith and finally Ivan and the soldiers went down to Greece for the wedding. Before the marriage they had to be baptized into the Greek Orthodox church. It was an incredible sight as thousands of people came to watch Ivan the Great and his 500 soldiers all wade into the water at one time to be baptized by immersion into their new church.
500 soldiers with full armor and 500 Greek Orthodox priests were standing in the blue water of the Mediterranean Sea for the baptism, when all of a sudden the king of Greece said, “We've got a problem.” The problem was that in the Greek Orthodox Church you could not be a warrior and a member of the church at the same time.
So they held a hastily-called diplomatic meeting in the water to ask, "How are we going to work this out?” They came up with a simple answer. Just before the priests immersed the soldiers, each man took out his sword, held it high above the water, and allowed the priest to baptize everything but his sword arm. Thus the saying “the unbaptized arm.”
The reality is that this shows that there was not a COMPLETE commitment to the faith in which they were being baptized. To be sure, few of us compromise faith by withholding a sword arm because we are warriors, but many withhold aspects of their lives because they do not view them as being part of God’s Dominion. For most people it is God’s call to not hold back in other areas. We hold back in our committing of time to God. We hold back from giving to God sacrificially in finances. We hold back from giving to God with our talents and skills.
This week I pray that you will seek to Baptize your entire life to the God that has loved you and been merciful to you. What step do you need to take as we begin this new year to see God’s loop of Redemption, Renewal and Rejoicing grow in your life?
Blessings,
Pastor Greg
Ivan's men found a wife for him from the daughter of the king of Greece, a beautiful girl. They said to Ivan, “We found a wife for you, but there's one problem.” “What's that?” he asked.
“If you're going to marry her, you have to be Greek Orthodox,” they said. Ivan the Great said, “Well, if you think she'd make a good wife for me, that's no problem, I could be Greek Orthodox.”
The Greeks sent tutors to Russia to tutor Ivan and 500 of his elite soldiers, everyone a great warrior. The soldiers required tutoring because Ivan said, “If I'm going to be Greek Orthodox, they're going to be Greek Orthodox.”
They tutored all these men in the Greek Orthodox faith and finally Ivan and the soldiers went down to Greece for the wedding. Before the marriage they had to be baptized into the Greek Orthodox church. It was an incredible sight as thousands of people came to watch Ivan the Great and his 500 soldiers all wade into the water at one time to be baptized by immersion into their new church.
500 soldiers with full armor and 500 Greek Orthodox priests were standing in the blue water of the Mediterranean Sea for the baptism, when all of a sudden the king of Greece said, “We've got a problem.” The problem was that in the Greek Orthodox Church you could not be a warrior and a member of the church at the same time.
So they held a hastily-called diplomatic meeting in the water to ask, "How are we going to work this out?” They came up with a simple answer. Just before the priests immersed the soldiers, each man took out his sword, held it high above the water, and allowed the priest to baptize everything but his sword arm. Thus the saying “the unbaptized arm.”
The reality is that this shows that there was not a COMPLETE commitment to the faith in which they were being baptized. To be sure, few of us compromise faith by withholding a sword arm because we are warriors, but many withhold aspects of their lives because they do not view them as being part of God’s Dominion. For most people it is God’s call to not hold back in other areas. We hold back in our committing of time to God. We hold back from giving to God sacrificially in finances. We hold back from giving to God with our talents and skills.
This week I pray that you will seek to Baptize your entire life to the God that has loved you and been merciful to you. What step do you need to take as we begin this new year to see God’s loop of Redemption, Renewal and Rejoicing grow in your life?
Blessings,
Pastor Greg
posted by Covenant of the Cross at
7:46 PM
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