“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
You have heard that in life only two things are certain—death and taxes. I will not quibble about these, but here are two other certainties in life: Promises will be made, and promises will be broken. We learn through painful experience not to be naïve when promises are offered to us, nor to be specific when asked to give one.
According to Craig Gotskill (How Effective is a Money Back Guarantee?), the money-back guarantee originated in 1868 by J.R. Watkins as an inducement to have customers buy his liniments. Retailer Sears Roebuck and Company adopted the money-back guarantee in 1888. Commonplace today, a money-back guarantee attempts to address our fear of broken promises in an economic transaction.
But having lost our naiveté through painful past experiences, we know that money-back guarantees are only as good as the integrity of the promise maker. And that’s the rub—you can see the circular reasoning at work here—“I promise I am not lying.”
There are consequences to promise breakers; there is recourse against those who deal falsely. Persons injured by broken promises can complain to authorities and even to the court of public opinion pursuing satisfaction, but our injuries and complaints are not always resolved in our favor.
Human to human interaction is always risky business.
God has also made promises to us. In ancient times, God made covenants with persons (Noah and Abraham) and with the Hebrew people (through Moses and David), promising to bless them, to protect them, to instruct them, and to lead them in paths that are pleasing to Him and beneficial to them. Jesus, whom we believe to be God, also made promises to His followers, such as to never leave them or to forsake them, to hear their prayers, to intercede on their behalf with God the Father, and to bring them ultimately to heaven.
These are all solid and good promises. But what do we know about the integrity of God?
The answer to that question ultimately depends on an individual’s personal and first-hand knowledge of Him. As in human inter-personal relations, personal knowledge of God leads to greater trust in His integrity. Job said, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you” (Job 42:5).
Gaining more than a superficial personal understanding of God takes work; all relationships take work and they take time. Our relationship with God deepens as we know Him better. The best place to start “getting to know” God is by reading the Bible, meditating on what it says about God, about us, and about our relationship with each other.
The Bible is rich in its record of God’s interactions with people since the beginning of time. People are complicated—and so is God. One story about God would not teach us what we need to know, but many stories of God give us a history that is credible and reliable. Through the ages, through stories, we see God is unchanging, He is Holy, He is righteous, and He is merciful and full of integrity even when we are none of those things. The Bible reveals the true nature of us, and the image is disturbing.
God demands our obedience, but He wants our obedience to be freely given. Obedience freely given is based on trust. God is alert to our mistrust of promises, and so through all the ages of the earth, God has given people signs of His character—that we can trust Him in all things.
Two such signs stand out remarkably different from the rest: the rainbow and the cross. The rainbow set in the sky reminds us (and God) of His promise to never again completely destroy men from the earth by flood. The atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross reminds us (and God) of His acts of love and mercy to redeem man from sin and death. Both vividly display God’s righteousness and mercy.
These two signs—the rainbow in heaven and Jesus, the Light of Heaven—have never faded away; they are visible to both God and men. Both signs were created by light passing through a medium. Light passing through the medium of water molecules creates the beauty of the rainbow. Jesus Christ, the true light that brings life to the world, passed through the medium of death in order to win for us freedom from the law of sin and death, and to let us see the beauty of God and His mercy and grace towards us.
God is trustworthy. When next you see a rainbow, remember God’s promise to withhold for a time His righteous judgment against a sinful world. Then give thanks to Jesus the Christ, the savior of the world, in whose light we bask and whose light we are to reflect to others groping in the darkness.
And in that moment, take time to reflect on God’s character. Praise His name with all your soul.