A Promise is a Promise...

     As the title of my blog suggests, my life is a landscape. It's where work is done to make the abode of the owner more presentable. Who is the owner? Jesus Christ. He owns this landscape and He is the one working in it to make it into just the kind of landscape He's envisioned for it. So it makes sense then, since this landscape is my life, that I would want to know what Jesus is going to do in it to make it better. How do I do that? By reading the Word of God.

     Recently I started reading in the Psalms. I've been reading straight through a book of the Bible in my personal devotions for some time now, and Psalms is where God had me go about 2 weeks ago. Having 150 Psalms to cover means I've got almost 5 more months in Psalms...but I know God's going to work through it. God's Word is living and powerful. It always has something new for you when you revisit a passage, and it can always speak to right where you are in your life, but only if you open your ears and listen. Always make sure to ask God to show you what He wants you to see before you read. When you do, it's amazing what you'll find...like what I found the other day in Psalms 15.

     In Psalms 15, King David rhetorically asks, "Who can dwell with the Lord?" And what does David do, but write a song that sings of all the things the righteous man of God should do. It's a good summary of what each Christian needs to be, so I'll post the verses here:

Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.

That is the kind of man I am striving to be. One who has all of these qualities. But the other day, when I read this Psalm, it wasn't all of the qualities that stood out, it was just one: and keep their promises even when it hurts.

     You see...I promised I would do something for a friend of mine...for Karis. Our courtship ended a few days ago, but not for any of the reasons your mind may jump to. The courtship was drawing us towards marriage within the next year, and neither Karis or myself are really prepared for what that entails. Sure God could move miraculously and prepare us both faster than we could imagine, and maybe He still will, but for now...we're just friends. But back to my promise...I promised that I would be here whenever she's ready. It could hurt, after all...I don't know when she'll be ready...and that could be quite some time. But a promise is a promise...and I intended to keep that promise.

     It may be that when she's ready...that God would have our relationship remain at just friends...or it may become so much more than that. I don't know what will happen. But in my heart...in my heart I couldn't be any more sure about the eventual outcome. Regardless of what I may feel, I have a promise to keep...and I'm going to keep it. Because regardless of the outcome, that's what God would have me do. He would have me keep every word I say. After all, what are words if you really don't mean them when you say them? I don't know the answer, but I do know this: I've meant every word I've said. Every single one...