I remember being pretty nervous the day we got married - mainly because I was aware of the huge significance of what we were doing and the fact that there was no turning back. (25 years on, I can honestly say that I have never wanted to turn back, but I think it was healthy to feel a bit apprehensive at the time!)

In the covenant-making event recorded in Exodus 24, the people twice affirm that they will do everything God has said they should do in the previous chapters (vv.3, 7). Perhaps things would have worked out better if the people had been a bit more thoughtful about what they were promising. On the other hand, sometimes God does call us to commit to things which, if we thought about them for long, we might decide to back away from.

I don't remember being nervous on the day when I first committed my life to God. It was an even more significant decision than who to marry, but I was a child and I don't think I understood much about what I was doing. I don't remember exactly what I said to God that day, but I might have said the sort of reckless things which the Israelites said in verses 3 and 7.

Fortunately God has been very good to me and very patient with my failings. Nearly 40 years on, I can honestly say that I have never wanted to turn back. And I hope that, now I am older and supposedly wiser, when he says 'jump', I am still willing to jump in with both feet.

How about you? How about us as a church family? What does total commitment look like for us?