Every "Yes" Matters: Why We Celebrate Faith Decisions

In InterVarsity, we make a big deal about decisions to follow Jesus. This year, we counted 2,670 first-time decisions to follow Jesus across the United States. Discipleship with Jesus is a daily decision to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). But formal moments of decision play a key role in our lives with God too.

Decisions Require Honest Reflection

I recently made a decision to dedicate my baby, Lucy, to God. She will make her own decisions as she grows, but this was a decision for me to choose to trust Jesus as I parent her. 

I had previously dedicated my firstborn daughter, Julia, to Jesus. She passed away from leukemia at 19 months old. The night before Lucy’s baby dedication, I felt physically sick, sweaty, and headachy. My body knew grief before my brain caught up. I prayed honestly, God, I dedicated Julia to you. And you took her from me. Can’t I keep one baby for myself? I pondered if I could hold to my commitment to follow Jesus and to teach my daughter about him. I’m still so mad at him.

An old hymn hummed in my mind, “I have decided to follow Jesus… no turning back, no turning back.” I had already decided, when I was six years old, to follow Jesus. But I needed to decide again. I wrote in my journal, “God, I’m still in this with you.” I made a bullet-pointed list as to why I’m still committed to him, though it still had several asterisks and question marks.

The morning of Lucy’s baby dedication, she had a blowout diaper and spit up all over her cute dress

that I had planned for her to wear. After washing and drying her dress, in my haste to get out the door,

I spilled my water bottle all over both of us. Getting an infant dressed and to church on time,

hoping they don’t scream on stage, feels unnecessarily torturous.

But I’m glad we got dressed up. I’m glad we got a cake. I’m glad we took pictures and had the whole family come over to celebrate. Because it is a big deal.

Why Do We Celebrate?

This experience made me reflect on what it is we are celebrating when we make faith decisions. If you’ve made a decision to follow Jesus in your InterVarsity chapter, you may wonder why your friends are making such a big deal about it. Here are a few reasons:

1. We celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit. When we have moments of decision or commitment, it’s because the Spirit has been convicting and inviting us into a decision point. He’s gotten our attention. His actions towards us and for us are what we celebrate. His transformative work in our lives will be ongoing and eternal (Philippians 1:6, 2:13).

    

2. We celebrate the courage it takes to make the decision. Decisions to follow Jesus are costly. For students, a decision for Jesus can mean a break in family trust, giving up resources, a change in career path, a surrender of desires, and an honest wrestling with distrust and pain. Historically and globally, decisions for Jesus can lead to imprisonment and even literal death. We don’t celebrate the suffering for suffering's sake, but for the hope it reveals (Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2). It’s courageous to say yes.

    

3. We celebrate every decision. Some students make a decision to trust Jesus for the first time. Others grew up with family faith traditions but decided to make a commitment as adults. Others make a recommitment after a season of hardship. Some students make a decision with certainty. Others take small, cautious first steps. All of these faith decisions and steps in the discipleship process are worthy of celebration (Mark 4:26-29).

    

4. We celebrate in community. If you decided to follow Jesus in InterVarsity, there’s a reason your community shared in your joy. I dedicated my daughters to Jesus with my friends in front of my whole community because when I’m doubting and angry with God, I can be encouraged that others have suffered too and are still saying yes to Jesus. When I can’t remember why I follow Jesus, I can remember the global and historical Church and those who have given up everything because of their belief in Jesus’s worthiness. We can celebrate because we are not alone (Luke 15:11-32).

    

5. We celebrate God’s loyalty to us. That church hymn that was playing in my head, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,” can be a bit confusing. Is it our decision that saves us or God’s grace? And how much weight do we put on the decision? It’s good that we make the decision and celebrate it, but our decisiveness and loyalty are not enough to lead us into holiness. It’s God’s fierce loyalty to us that makes us into disciples (2 Timothy 2:13, Romans 5:8, 8:10).

Deciding to trust Jesus with my life and with my daughters’ lives is something I will need help with hourly, but I’m glad I had this formal time of dedication. Whether I’m changing diapers in the middle of the night, sending my baby off to college, or remembering my firstborn, I can look back at this time and remember that I made a commitment, in community, to trust Jesus with their lives. And Jesus, in his faithfulness, will help me stick to that commitment.

What would you add to my list? How has God met you in your decision to follow him on campus this year, and who can celebrate that with you? Maybe you’re like me and want to make a decision, but you have honest questions and doubts. Who or what can help you take one more step of honest courage towards Jesus? How will you celebrate that when you do?