[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Friday, July 11, 2014

[Paul]

Hello and good day to you all, no matter what day of the week it is or time of day.  I hope and pray that, by God's matchless grace and His providential care, that you are all doing well.

Have you ever made a promise and then reneged on the same? Well, I have, and I suppose you also have.  Elaine Leavitt, a writer from Arizona, wishes to share something of a similar nature in her article entitled "The Promise," rendered as follows:

I have a completely restored '57 Chevy.  It has taken me years and more money than I care to admit to completely bring my Chevy to my level of satisfaction.  One day, my son approached me and requested that I loan him the car for a while.  He promised he would take care of it, since it was my pride and joy.

After six months, my son returned.  As he drove into the driveway, I noticed he hadn't kept his promise:  my restored Chevy had a dent in the side, the bumper was falling off, the front window was cracked, and paint was chipping off all over the car.  I immediately began shaking with anger and disappointment.  He promised to care for my prized possession and failed to keep his word.

As he opened the door to the car, he cast his eyes downward and began to approach me.  I saw that he realized that he had failed to keep his promise.

As I stood there watching my son walk towards me, I began to think back to a promise I had made to my Father in heaven.  The day I asked Him to enter my heart, I promised to love and help my fellow man.  I promised to make the world a better place.  I promised to tell others of the love my Father had for me and how it was available to anyone who asked God to enter their heart.

As I thought of my promise to my 
Father, I realized I had let my Father down in the same fashion as my son had let me down.  It wasn't the same promise, but a promise is a promise.

How would my Father react the day I stood before Him with my broken promise? Would He chastise me? Would He forgive me? Could I possibly ask Him to forgive me?

When my son finally stood in front of me, with a broken heart of regret, I put my arm around his shoulder and said, "Let's start fixing the car together, son."

Thank God that He forgives and forgets all our promises that we made years ago! If He hadn't, well, I don't even want to think where we would be right now.  This reminds me of the place in the Psalms (Psalm 51, I think) where it says:  "As far as the east is from the west, so far as He removed our transgressions from Him."

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord willing, tomorrow there will be another daily thought article for you.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul