15 And with this confidence I intended to come to you first so that you would get a second opportunity to see us, 16 and through your help to go on into Macedonia and then from Macedonia to come back to you and be helped on our way into Judea by you. 17 Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? Or do I make my plans according to mere human standards so that I would be saying both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 But as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but it has always been “Yes” in him. 20 For every one of God’s promises are “Yes” in him; therefore also through him the “Amen” is spoken, to the glory we give to God.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Paul Bogg

Have you ever told someone you were planning to see them, and then not been able to follow through with it – maybe due to some circumstance that was out of your control?  I have, and sometimes others can feel hurt as a result.  I think I once told my daughter that I might make it to her school assembly, and I wasn’t able to due to my work.  I remember her being very understanding, and agreeing that sometimes ‘work things’ just get in the way of being able to do other loving and lovely things.  But she was also hurt.

In this passage, the apostle Paul and the Corinthians have had something similar happen.  Paul had told them of his intention to visit them, but due to circumstances beyond his control, was not able to do so.  I love how what Paul says next magnifies God in light of Paul’s own inability to control events.  My 'Yes' today might not stay as a 'Yes' tomorrow – but every 'Yes' that God has ever said will continue to be 'Yes' forever in Jesus Christ.

Here's why this is so precious to me: It means whenever I read the Bible and I read about God’s promises to his people – from Genesis through to Malachi, from Matthew through to Revelation – I know that when I accepted Jesus as my Lord, I inherited all those promises. I became a recipient of them. And not only did I inherit those promises, I can trust that anything that God has promised will one day come true. That is good news to me when I'm mourning, because he promises to wipe away every tear, and that death will be no more. It is good news to me when I am in trouble, because he is the great comforter (as we have already heard in this letter) and I will be comforted.  It is good news when I see the great evils of this world, because God will judge and avenge, and he will right all the wrongs of this world fully and completely at the time of His choosing.  And even though I too will stand judged by God, it is good news for me to know that his Son Jesus has taken this punishment for me, and he promises that I will continue to walk as a free man in his everlasting kingdom. 

Which of God's promises to you in Christ will you reflect on today?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul is a member of our Bossley Park Morning congregation.