A Test of Commitment: 15 Challenges to Stimulate Your Devotion to Christ

CHAPTER ONE: A GLASS OF WINE (JEREMIAH)

As a man walked home one day, he found a wallet someone had lost in the street. He picked it up and searched it for identification in order to be able to contact its owner. But he only found three dollars and a crumpled letter that looked as if it’d been in there for years. The envelope was worn and almost the only thing that remained legible was the return address. Then he saw the date: 1924. The letter had been written almost sixty years earlier! It was written in a girl’s handwriting to someone whose name appeared to be Michael, whom it seemed she was never to see again, because her mother had said their friendship was to stop. She was writing to say she’d still always love him, and signed off as Hannah.

It was a beautiful letter, but there was no way to identify the owner of the wallet, except for the name Michael. But, wait, wasn’t there just one lead? For Hannah had put a return address! The telephone exchange confirmed there was a phone listing for Hannah’s return address on the envelope, and the supervisor said as a courtesy, she’d call the number, and explain the situation. The woman on the other end of the line said they’d bought their house from a family who did have a daughter named Hannah - but that was thirty years ago.

But then she added that they’d kept in touch and she happened to know that Hannah had placed her mother in a certain nursing home some years ago. Well, this in turn led to another phone call (this time to the nursing home), during which it was explained that the old lady had passed away some years ago - but the nursing home did have a phone number for where the daughter might be living. Phoning that number next, revealed the fact that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home! And so it was that the finder of the wallet finally came to call the nursing home in which Hannah was supposed to be living – to be told Yes, Hannah is staying with us.

It was by now already 10 pm, but he asked if he could come to see her. The night nurse and a guard greeted him at the door, and they went up to the third floor of the large building. In the day room, the nurse introduced him to Hannah. She was a sweet, silver-haired old-timer with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eyes. He told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter. The second she saw it, she took a deep breath and said, this letter was the last contact I ever had with Michael. I loved him very much. But I was only sixteen at the time and mother felt I was too young. Yes, she continued, Michael Goldstein was a wonderful person. If you should find him, tell him I think of him often. And ..., she hesitated for a moment, ... I never did marry. I guess no one ever matched up to Michael ...

When the security guard enquired how his visit to Hannah had been. The man, now on his way out, explained the whole story about how it had really all been about trying to find the owner of a wallet he’d found. He produced the wallet, and when the guard saw it, he immediately said, Hey, wait a minute! That’s Mr. Goldstein’s wallet. I’d know it anywhere with that bright red lacing. He’s always losing it. I must have found it in the halls at least three times already. He’s one of the old-timers on the eighth floor. That’s Mike Goldstein’s wallet for sure. He probably lost it on one of his walks.

And so a hurried visit was immediately paid to the day room on the eighth floor! The same nurse went over to Mr. Goldstein who put his hand in his back pocket and confirmed his wallet was missing, and that the one being offered to him, was indeed his. The finder of the wallet then admitted that he’d read the letter – explaining he’d done so in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet – and then he added: Not only did I read it, but I think I know where Hannah is. The old man smiled and asked, Could you tell me where she is? I was so in love with that girl that when that letter came, my life seemed to end. I never married. I guess I’ve always loved her.

Soon the elevator was making its way down from the eighth to the third floor. The hallways were darkened but one or two night lights lit the way to the day room, where Hannah was still watching television alone. The nurse walked over to her. Hannah, she said softly, pointing to Michael, who was waiting in the doorway. Do you know this man? She adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment, but didn’t say a word. Michael said softly, almost in a whisper, Hannah, it’s Michael. Do you remember me? She gasped. Michael! I don’t believe it! Michael! It’s you! My Michael! He walked slowly toward her, and they embraced. About three weeks later, they were married - with all the people at the nursing home joining in the celebration. They were given their own room, and a seventy-six-year-old bride and a seventy-nine-year-old groom acted like the two teenagers they’d been when they were forced to part sixty years before. (THE WALLET by Arnold Fine, Readers Digest, 1985).

Think of it. A young man loved his girl so much that he stayed faithful to her and remained single his whole life long because he couldn’t love another woman the same way. And a teenage woman remained true to her first love, even as she obeyed her parents’ wishes. By contrast, the apostle John wrote to some Christians who’d left their first love (Revelation 2:4). And James wrote to Christians who’d failed to remain faithful to the Lord, but who had become friends of the world instead (James 4:1-5).

One day long ago, God asked the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 35), to visit a small group of people called the Rechabites, to invite them to the temple, and in a side room there, to offer them wine to drink. Jeremiah makes the arrangements and brings them in. He brings out a tray of glasses filled with wine, just as God had instructed him. But then, most likely, he noticed a sense of discomfort among his guests. ‘I’m sorry,’ says the leader of the group. ‘Didn’t you know that we don’t drink wine and haven’t done so for generations? One of our ancestors, a devout man, commanded us never to drink wine. To this day, we never drink wine.’

Perhaps Jeremiah was then puzzled as to why God had asked him to do this. Then, in effect, God explained: ‘I just wanted you to see a living example of how it’s possible even for an earthly father to command obedience that lasts for generations. But I’ve spoken to my people again and again, but they’ve not obeyed me – they just keep on making excuses for not serving me.’

A human being can be determined enough to follow an earthly leader. By the sheer power of the human will, and by rigid discipline, a man can observe a really tough set of rules. What then does that say