CT Classic: Controlling the Unpredictable—The Power of Promising
When you make a promise you have created a small sanctuary of trust within the jungle of unpredictability
Lewis B. Smedes | posted 12/01/2002 12:00AM
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In my previous piece on forgiving and in this one on promising, I have been captivated by a two-directional power of grace in our living. As I search the pages of redemptive history for the moral essence of God's character, what comes to me is this: God is, par excellence, in the character he reveals, the One who creates for us a new past and a new future by forgiving and promising. And as I read the pages of human experience, I think I see here and there mere men and women sharing in God's life to this creative extent: they create a new past for themselves by forgiving people who have hurt them and they create a future for others by making promises to people who need them. As I see it, there are subtle miracles of human freedom. The neglect of them in our time may hasten disaster. Renewal of our power to practice them may yet save us.
This article originally appeared in the January 21, 1983 issue of Christianity Today.
Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere
Other stories appearing on our site today include:
Forgiveness—The Power to Change the Past | To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.
Hurt, Hate, and Healing | A 1985 interview with Lewis Smedes.
Arguments in Favor of Abortion Are Strong … | … if you accept one all-important assumption.
Books written by Lewis Smedes are available at Christianbook.com.
Additional Christianity Today articles written by Lewis B. Smedes include:
How to Deal With Criminals | Is there a biblical principle behind the punishment of those who break the law? (July 8, 2002)
Keys to Forgiving | How do you know that you have truly forgiven someone? (Dec. 3, 2001)
Who Are We to Judge? | Did Jesus forbid us from judging others? (Oct. 8, 2001)
Can God Reach the Mentally Disabled? | Are mentally challenged adults whose intellectual age is probably that of a 1-year-old sheltered under God's salvation? (March 21, 2001)
Is Suicide Unforgivable? | What is the biblical hope and comfort we can offer a suicide victim's family and friends? (July 6, 2000)
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