Are We Going To Keep Our Promises?
Good Morning Friends,
For some, the consideration of consequences motivates proper behavior and for others a night in a cave thinking. For some it is a shout and others a still small voice, as a pregnant pause.
Whatever the process we still must decide or it will be decided for us. We can get back in the game but the thing is that we must be all in…we cannot be lukewarm with our commitments. For it is not so much about claiming the moral high ground but embracing a community of believers that love in a way to reject the violence of evil as a path to redemption.
Maybe you have figured this out and maybe not. But it is important, for it is played out on the world stage as well as in our private lives. So, with that in mind let us explore what today’s scripture reveals about good and evil and ask, Are We Going To Keep Our Promises?
Scripture: At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.
1 Kings 19:9a, 11-16 (NRSV)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 5:27-32 (NRSV)
Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
Matthew 5:37 (NRSV)
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
Deuteronomy 31:8 (NRSV)
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.”
Luke 22:42 (NRSV)
Message: One of the poorest rationalization that we use to justify our actions is that reflected in the phrase, everybody else is doing it. But to be a person of integrity we must be willing to go against the crowd especially when the crowd is wrong. Here a friend of mine pointed out that staying in the game is not going to be enough. “Being All In” will be. Now it may feel like we are standing alone for what is right, but we are never alone. Commitment must be 100%. Faithfulness must be 100%. Integrity must be 100%. And that is rare indeed. Sure, swimming against the religious tide can be a lonely business. Look at the life of Elijah and Jesus. Still, even though doubts may follow, God recalls us to duty and commitment. Along these lines Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 5 that whenever we make a promise we do so in the presence of God. When we break a promise, we are not just lying to others or ourselves. We are also lying to God. In first century Israel, the Pharisees had developed elaborate rules governing when a man was bound by his word and when he was not. But the world is looking for authenticity wherever they can find it. Today more than ever, we must let our Yes be yes and our No be no. Jesus faced the gut-wrenching choice of keeping a costly promise. God had been promising for thousands of years to send a Messiah, His Son to save the world through His death and resurrection. But when the moment of truth came in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus felt the weight keeping this promise. He even asked if the promise could be removed. Friends, Jesus knows what it is like to face the weight of a promise. But in that moment of truth, when He realized there was no other way, Jesus became the ultimate promise-keeper. So too Elijah kept his promises and ultimately rejected violence as a path to redemption and so must we.
Pray God come close to us. Pray we overcome our doubts about our duty. Pray we not fear. Pray that peer pressure for us is no pressure at all. Pray we realize that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is the provision we seek. Pray we are faithful to God and yield to the Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of Jesus. Pray we continue becoming promise keepers with integrity. Pray we are all in. Pray we are living proof of goodness and forgiveness with a mind that is not divided, living in a house that is in unity and a community of love that never disappoints.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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