"I'll ring you back . . ."

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Dictum meum pactum – My word is my bond.

Since 1801 this has been the motto of the London Stock Exchange where bargains are made with no exchange of documents and no written pledges being given. I think they have it in Latin as dictum meum pactum but it means the same thing. If you’re wondering what relevance that has for you, let me explain.

 

It was a trying experience. I thought it was just a simple insurance claim for a new windscreen but apparently it wasn’t. After getting nowhere with a call centre worker, I asked to speak to a supervisor. It seemed that the supervisor was unavailable at that moment but they promised he would ring me back. He didn’t. I rang again. The manager was “in a meeting”, but he would definitely ring back. He didn’t. Sound familiar? People make promises and don’t keep them. The saga dragged on for 24 hours before, finally, the matter was resolved.

To be fair it might not have been the manager’s fault. Something might have happened that meant he just couldn’t return my call. We’re not always able to honour our promises – we’re not in command of every circumstance.

The beauty of God’s message to you and I today is that if God promises it will come to pass. That’s really great. When I came to realize that I was a guilty sinner in need of God’s salvation, I trusted Christ. I wonder if you’ve ever come to that point. Have you ever realized that you have failed to live as God wants you to live? You have never given to God the place in your life that He deserves. You stand guilty and condemned before a holy God – that is the verdict of the Bible. Not just for you, but for me as well! What can we do? The answer is simple. We come to God and confess our failure – it’s time to say sorry and change the direction of our life forever. We must believe that Jesus Christ died in our place, bore the punishment for our sin, to provide salvation for us. God says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life”. The Lord Jesus said, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life . . . is passed from death unto life”. That’s a promise!

I’m confident that I am on my way to heaven. That would be a foolish thing to say if it wasn’t for the fact that God promised – I have “everlasting life”, a home in heaven, and peace with God. I’m not relying upon a human promise. When the Lord Jesus said, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself” nothing can stop Him from doing exactly that. That’s a promise and a hope worth having!

Poppies

The 10^th November 2013 was Remembrance Sunday. It was the time set aside to remember those who have given their lives in various conflicts across the globe – British soldiers who have fought and died to preserve the freedom that we take for granted. It was on a visit to Crich and the memorial there that I began to appreciate the significance. There was the record of 11000 men killed in the First World War and over 2000 killed in the Second World War. This is a just a snapshot of how many were killed across the many regiments of soldiers in the country. We think of those that died in vast numbers. We think of the families affected. It is right and fitting that those who have benefitted should show their respect for the dead.

 

I wonder. How many people give any thought to One who gave His life some 2000 years ago? It was outside the city of Jerusalem that He was crucified by the Romans. Rejected by His own people, despised by the leaders of the nation, He was taken by the Roman soldiers, brutally treated and crucified by nails driven through His hands and feet. He too was a victim of conflict – the conflict between good and evil. Peter described the events when he said to the Jews, ‘ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain’. The crucifixion was an expression of human self-will, sin, a testimony to man’s wickedness. Does that mean that evil triumphed? No!

 

Those that we remember each year on the second Sunday in November gave their life to maintain many of the freedoms we take for granted. Jesus Christ laid down His life to give us a freedom far greater. Jesus died to free us from sin – its penalty, its power, and, one day, its presence. When He died, He died as a sacrifice for sin. He died to pay the penalty of our sin and guilt and to restore us to fellowship with God.

 

We observe a few minutes silence once a year by way of remembrance of the dead of numerous conflicts. It’s not much in minutes when compared with the minutes that make up a year. Just two minutes! To think that the Son of God loved me and gave His life to ransom mine, what time do I spend in remembrance of Him? Have you given any thought to the death of Jesus Christ? Have you ever considered why? Have you ever considered that your sin and mine cost God His own Son to provide us with the possibility of salvation from sin – freedom?