By Jean Nathalia
13 Oct
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Galatians 4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1
The Law says, if you remember, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-girl, and one by his free-born wife. The child of the slave-girl was born in the ordinary way; the child of the free woman was born as the result of a promise. This can be regarded as an allegory: the women stand for the two covenants. The first who comes from Mount Sinai, and whose children are slaves, is Hagar – The Jerusalem above, however, is free and is our mother, since scripture says: Shout for joy, you barren women who bore no children! Break into shouts of joy and gladness, you who were never in labour. For there are more sons of the forsaken one than sons of the wedded wife. So, my brothers, we are the children, not of the slave-girl, but of the free-born wife.
When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
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Luke 11:29-32
The crowds got even bigger and Jesus addressed them, ‘This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.’
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The child of the free woman was born as the result of a promise
I take promises seriously. If someone promises me something but fails to fulfill his/her promise, I remember it and am careful to trust in that person’s “promises” again. After all, what is the point of a “promise” if it is not kept?
The memory of broken promises, however, has made it hard for me to trust anybody who makes a promise to me. I feel I am bound to be disappointed at some point, and so I am constantly on the lookout to prove that people will disappoint me. This has undoubtedly caused others and I a huge degree of wound and pain. Others constantly disappoint me – it makes me angry, sad, and hopeless about people and even life. Others feel they constantly disappoint me – it makes them feel inadequate and like a failure around me.
I know that I am too absolute about this matter. I know that I have undoubtedly high standards that only hurt others and myself. But the child in me cries out, “What is a promise if it is not kept?! Am I really wrong for upholding the meaning of a promise?”
As the child in me cries out, I feel God holding me. I am not wrong about my understanding and expectations of what a promise means, He assures me. But I must also hold the meaning of a promise in context of other truths. The other truth I must consider is that human beings are imperfect and even to the best of our intentions, we will disappoint each other at some point (if not, many) in our lives. I must be able to integrate various truths together, rather than choose one truth over all others.
What does it mean to hold various truths together? It means that I must continue to strive to keep to my promises and to remind others of the meaning of a promise. It means that I will expect wounds to arise because there are times when promises will be broken. It means, also, that I must strive to be gentle and forgiving on myself and on others at times when these promises are broken.
To integrate these two truths in one sentence: Promises are meant to be kept and compassion is needed in relationships.
There is, however, one whom we can expect perfection of: God. We can expect Him to fulfill any promises He makes to us, and we should expect Him to fulfill them for He is perfect. When I think back on my life, I realize that human beings have all disappointed me at some point or another, but God has never disappointed me. If I give Him enough time, He delivers every single time. Let us therefore hold onto the promises of human beings while holding onto the truth of compassion. Let us also hold onto the promise of God and expect that He will always deliver.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Jean Nathalia)
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Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for reminding me to cast all expectations I have of others back onto you – where such absolute expectations not only belongs, but is desired.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks to God for believing in the value of promises, just as the child in us does.
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