I Am A Promise!
We talk about promises in many ways — making a promise is usually significant and quite serious. At baptism, parents and sponsors promise to raise and educate a child in the faith. At confirmation, our young people affirm the promise, saying “I ask God to help and guide me.” At marriage, couples promise one another that they will be faithful, honorable, and trusting. And at the end of our earthly lives, we hear the comforting words that promise salvation and eternal life.
God makes promises to us throughout the Bible — to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and both the everyday people as well as the prophets and kings of the Old Testament. Then he sends Jesus to us as the most amazing promise we could ever imagine, as Jesus teaches us of God’s love, forgiveness, and enduring faithfulness, with the promise of life everlasting. As God’s people, we are blessed to be able to make promises to God, however humble and human they are. At the milestone times in life, promising to care for children, one another, and to serve God as adults, it’s certainly a good thing that when we make those promises, we ask God to help us keep them. Most of us would define a promise as those made at these times. So maybe we should broaden our understanding and use this word in another way:
“I am a promise;I am a possibility,I am a promise, with a capital P;
I can be anything, anything God wants me to be.”
From “I Am a Promise” by Bill & Gloria Gaither
I have loved this delightful song ever since first hearing it sung by a young children’s choir years ago. It’s swingy and bouncy, and is sure to bring a smile to your face. And then listen to the words — what a concept — I am a promise! Not I will make or keep a promise — I am, and can be a promise. That means that all I am or do in life can be in service to God and his creation, and I can trust in God’s guidance all along the way.
Please take some time to consider the blessing you have of being a promise, and of the many opportunities God puts before every one of us. You are a promise!
Your Friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers