The following letter was written by a young communist to his girl friend. He was breaking off his relationship with her because of his devotion to the communist cause. She gave the letter to her pastor, who gave the letter to Billy Graham. Billy Graham published the letter. Here it is:

“We communists have a high casualty rate. We are the ones who get shot and hung and ridiculed and fired from our jobs and in every other way made as uncomfortable as possible. A certain percentage of us get killed or imprisoned. We live in virtual poverty. We turn back to the party every penny we make above what is absolutely necessary to keep us alive.

We communists do not have the time or the money for many movies or concerts or T-bone steaks or decent homes or new cars. We’ve been described as fanatics. We are fanatics. Our lives are dominated by our great, overshadowing factor: the struggle for world communism. We have a philosophy of life, which no amount of money could buy. We have a cause to fight for, a definite purpose in life. We subordinate our petty personal selves into a great movement of humanity; and if our personal lives seem hard or our egos appear to suffer through subordination to the party, then we are adequately compensated by the thought that each of us, in his small way, is contributing to something new and true and better for mankind.

There is one thing in which I am dead earnest about, and that is the communist cause. It is my life, my business, my religion, my hobby, my sweetheart, my wife, my mistress, my bread and meat. I work at it in the daytime and dream of it at night. Its hold on me grows, not lessens, as time goes on; therefore, I cannot carry on a friendship, a love affair, or even a conversation without relating it to this force which both drives and guides my life. I evaluate people, looks, ideas, and actions according to how they affect the communist cause, and by their attitude toward it. I’ve already been in jail because of my ideals, and if necessary, I’m ready to go before a firing squad.”

This was published in something titled, Call to Commitment by Billy Graham.

I don’t admire the cause, but I do admire the level of commitment. In light of reading that letter I must ask myself, “Am I that committed to Jesus Christ?” Am I willing to pay the ultimate price to follow Jesus Christ? Am I even willing to pay a considerably lower price in order to do what I feel Jesus Christ is calling me to do?

Every so often I read a book about church growth. I’ve read books about stewardship. I’ve read articles about what it takes to have an active youth group or an active Sunday School. One common theme in all the books is commitment. The people in the congregation decide on something together. They decide we are going to do whatever it takes to make this happen in our church.

A group of people may decide to do whatever it takes to have an excellent choir. Another group may decide to do whatever it takes to have an active youth ministry. Another group may decide to do whatever it takes to balance our budget.

We know what our mission is. It is to be disciples, and it is to make disciples. We become disciples when we follow Christ. We are disciples when we hear God’s word regularly, when we sing God’s praises, when we pray regularly, and when we follow Christ’s example by serving others. We make disciples by inviting others into our fellowship and by walking along side of them as they deepen their faith while we also deepen our own faith.

That is our mission. It is unlike the struggle for world communism in important ways. It is not misguided. If we accomplish our mission, the world will truly be a better place. The more we follow Christ, the more fulfilling our lives will be. When others accept our invitation to follow Christ, their lives are changed for the better as well. It is a life-changing mission. It is a life saving mission. Our mission introduces others to the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection and the promise of everlasting life. When we accept this as our mission, we are truly on a mission from God.

It is clear to me that the author of that letter had made communism his god. If there is something in your life that is more important than being a follower of Jesus Christ, then that is your god. If Jesus Christ isn’t first, then you are a living violation of the first commandment. The first commandment tells us to have no other gods. If there is something in my life that is more important than being a follower of Jesus Christ, then that is my god, and I am in violation of the first commandment.

If every member of St. Mark’s was half as committed to being a follower of Christ as the author of the letter was committed to communism, we would have a thriving congregation. We would not have budget problems, and our Sunday School would have no trouble attracting students or teachers.

Pray that God will increase the level of commitment of the members of St. Mark’s. Pray that your level of commitment will be the first to be increased. Pray that my level of commitment will increase as well.

May God bless you in all that you do, and may God bless this congregation.

Sincerely,

Pastor Birk|