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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!
