The Promise Maker

Promises are made for all sorts of reasons.  When I was a boy, I often promised to never do something again which had gotten me into trouble.  The promise was not made because of some change in my heart, but made as a hope it would reduce the punishment which was coming.  Of course, it is not just children who make promises as a way of getting out of trouble.  It is an adult response as well.  Promises abound in our culture.  Some are made as a way of meeting an obligation, some are made out of a sense of duty, and some are made to shore up what seems to be a weak commitment.    

God is a God of promises.   He is a Promise Maker.  And, He is a Promise Keeper.   The Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Christians a descriptive Word about God as he wrote, "For this reason, it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace...."  (Romans 4:16)  This promising making, promising keeping God is one who makes promises that rest not on obligation, or duty, but on grace.   The promises God has made and directed our way are made not because we deserve them, but out of of a holy love impossible for us to completely understand.    

What makes every promise of God so incredible has to do with the fact that those of us who are the beneficiaries of those divine promises are perennial promise breakers. We not only break promises we make to one another, but we also break the promises we make to God.  Who among us wants to start listing the ways we have broken promises made to the One who is always faithful to us?  And even though the broken promises are too numerous to count, God continues to hold the power of His promises made over our heads.  They do, indeed, rest on grace.  Nothing but grace could keep us under the care of the countless holy promises He has made to us and for us.