The Committal

 “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”

(Luke 23:46 ESV)

Most of us like to maintain control of our life. We like to maintain control of our affairs. And we’re unwilling to turn that control over to others unless it’s absolutely necessary.

There are times in life, when we have to do just that. There are times in life when we have to entrust ourselves into the care of others, allowing them to make decisions that can drastically impact our life. And we have to do so for our own good, as well as the good of others.

This is true of us when we are young, while we are under the care of our parents. It’s true of us when we are ill. It’s true also of us as we age, and as our abilities begin to wane. 

As we see in the verse above, this is exactly what Jesus did as he hung on the cross. We find that this is exactly what he did as his life reached its end. We find that, as he was about to die, having completed the purpose for which he’d been sent, he entrusted himself, he entrusted his soul, he entrusted his life, into the hands of God the Father.

He did so in the words of David, from Psalm 31. In fact, he fulfilled the words of David from this Psalm. As David fled from his enemies, he made an appeal to God for help and for salvation. And he entrusted his well-being, he entrusted his spirit, into the hands of God.

We do this with others during their funeral. We have a service for them, called the Committal.  And what we are doing, in this service, is entrusting them into the care of God.

We commit them into the hand of God knowing that we’re powerless to do anything for them. We commit them into the hands of God knowing that we have no say, that we have no authority, when it comes to their eternal destiny. We entrust them into the hands of God, knowing that he, and he alone, determines their fate. We entrust them into the hands of God, knowing that he, and he alone, can give them life. We entrust them into the hands of God, knowing that he, and he alone, can give them salvation.

And, in the same way, we can entrust ourselves, we can entrust our very soul, into the hands of God. We can do so, knowing that we are safe in his care. We can do so knowing that he wants only our good, that he wants only our blessing.  And we can do so knowing his ability, as well as his promise, to provide just that.

This, in fact, is something that we must do, as Christians. And it’s something that we must do not only as we’re facing death. It’s something that we must do each and every day of our lives.  It’s something we must do every moment of every day. 

It’s something we must do as we’re truly powerless over our life. It’s something we must do, recognizing that this power and control is possessed by God alone.  It’s something we must do, recognizing that, in spite of our sin and the punishment we deserve, he is willing to grant us his blessing.

As we do so, even though we hate to cede control of our life, this fills us with peace.  Even though we hate to give up our sense of independence, it gives us a calmness of spirit.  And even though we hate to acknowledge how powerless we truly are, it provides us a sense of tranquility.

It does so because no longer are we fighting a fruitless battle for control.  It does so because no longer are we engaged in a losing battle for independence. And it does so because no longer are we taking part in a war we cannot win for the fate of our soul.