Perceptions #200501

"God's Promises"

by Norman Bales

Not long ago I discovered a thought-provoking author who alternately gets in my face and encourages me. His name is Mark Buchanan. The first book I acquired was titled Is Your God Too Safe? He sets out to convince us of an obvious premise we don't seem quite willing to accept. We can't control God. The second book I bought is titled, The Holy Wild and is subtitled "Trusting the Character of God."While working through The Holy Wild one of Buchanan's thoughts struck a responsible chord in my mind. According to Buchanan, God only promises us only three things with an absolute guarantee. 1. He promises to forgive our sins if we confess them. 2. He promises to make us holy and blameless in His sight. 3. He promises to get us home. When Jesus sent out the seventy-two (Luke 10) they were elated because the demons submitted to them in the name of Jesus. Jesus gave this interesting response. " . . . do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (v. 20). God has not promised to cure all our disease, relieve all our suffering or get us out of all the jams we get ourselves into. He doesn't even promise to make us happy, at least according to the commonly accepted definition of happiness. He may grant those things and if he does, we praise Him for it, but his character is not maligned if he chooses not to grant our fervent requests. On the other hand he will forgive, sanctify and save. You can take that one to the bank.

top of page    previous article    Perceptions Index