Promises, Promises

I don't like making promises.  Sometimes my wife will ask me to promise something (usually that I'll do something I've been putting off for too long), but I won't promise it.  There's something about the idea of a promise that is far weightier than our society has allowed it to become.  See: gone are the days when someone's word is his bond.  Instead, promises are made and broken so often that they've lost all meaning; we expect that a promise will be broken.  I don't like making promises because I can't bear the idea that I won't be able to keep it.

I made a vow to my wife, to God, and to my friends/family that I will love, honour, and cherish Laurel above all else, until death parts us.  I made that promise because I can keep it.  I have control over myself to the point where I will choose to love her, choose to honour her, and choose to cherish her until I am shuffled off this mortal coil.  No one can prevent me, not even her.

That's the thing about the promises we make: so many times we promise something that we cannot guarantee.  Forget the times when we lie or make a promise in bad faith - can you guarantee that you'll be alive tomorrow to repay that loan?  What if you get hit by a car, or suffer an aneurism? - your promise will go unfulfilled.  Jesus warns about making oaths in Matthew 5:33-37, and I love what He says about our power to fulfill them: "And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black."  Just give a simple yes or a no, and let that be all you offer.


Christmas makes me think about promises.  Specifically, I think about the promises God made to Mary, Joseph, Abraham, David, and all of us: The Messiah would be born to the world, be rejected by His people, and be the sacrifice for the sins of all humanity so that we could finally be forgiven and be acceptable to God.  There are more, of course, but that about sums it up, I think.  Think about this for a second: God made promises to a group of people who span all of history that must have seemed like madness (eg: a virgin would conceive and give birth, he would be born in Bethlehem, his garments would be divided by casting lot, he would be despised and rejected by men, by his wounds we would be healed)... I don't know if I could have taken them seriously.


But this is the difference between me and God: He can and does always keep His promises.  Every single one.  There is no other being who can make the claim that everything He says, He will do.  Go ahead and check it out:
Abraham's descendants will number like the stars (Genesis 15:5)? - Kept
Virgin has a son (Isaiah 7:14) - Kept (Luke 1:26-38)
This son will be despised by men and suffer (Isaiah 53:3-4) - Kept (Matthew 27)
People will jeer, "He trusted in God, let God save him" (Psalm 22:8) - Kept (Matthew 27:43)
This suffering is for us, and will bring us peace with God (Isaiah 53:5) - Kept (Romans 5:6-11)

Of course, there are more promises made and kept, but see how perfectly these things came about?  Who else can keep a promise that involves so many other people?

All of this brings me to two vitally important promises:
1)  The manger without the Cross is an empty promise, and without the empty tomb, a broken promise.  Everything in history builds toward Christ's death on the cross.  Every prophecy, every promise, every birth and death drags us to the foot of the cross and the mouth of the empty tomb.  Without the cross, there is no forgiveness of sins because the perfect sacrifice was never made.  Without the empty tomb, death has not been defeated and we still grieve like those who have no hope.  The cross and empty tomb is the focus point of all history.  Everything builds toward it, and since that moment, nothing has remained the same.

2)  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).  See: Without Christ's forgiveness, we are doomed, damned, and hopeless.  Our lives provide fleeting pleasure, only to be swallowed up in the despair of an eternal Hell.  We will run ourselves ragged trying to do enough good things to assuage our guilt, and fail miserably.  We will live as self-absorbed hedonists who do whatever seems good in our own eyes.  But God's grace is extended in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  He chose to make us His children while we have been His enemies.  All it takes is our acceptance of His terms - unconditional surrender.

But that's the beauty of the promise.  Our surrender means life.  It is the only thing that means life for us.  Everything else - all other faiths, religions, practices, values - all lead to death.

Believe in Christ and you will be saved.  That a promise.