365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 144: Promise Keeper

Promise Keeper

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.'"(Matthew 28:5, 6a NIV)

"He is not here; He has risen, just as he said."

These eleven words are God's great "yes."

Yes to the once-for-all sacrifice of His son.
Yes to victory over death.
Yes to a future for us.
Yes to a relationship with us.

"He is not here."

Because Jesus was not there, He is here with us now. Because Jesus was not in the grave, He can be in our hearts. Because He did what He said He would do and does what He says He will do, we can be who He says we are:

Chosen.
Forgiven.
Free.
Victorious.
Reborn, remade, renewed.
Loved with a love that died to save us and lives to save us.

"He has risen, just as he said."

Jesus rose from the dead "just" as He said He would. I love the way the Yes of God puts the "full" in fulfillment. He is not a just-barely Promise Keeper; He keeps every promise of His Father completely and lavishly. 

Sometimes, we make cheap promises that don't cost us anything to keep, but Jesus made the most expensive promise ever...a promise that cost Him everything to keep. 

It reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite movies: in it, a couple from vastly different families is engaged to be married, and in order to be accepted into his beloved's family, the groom-to-be agrees to take part in a particular ceremony as his bride-to-be looks on with her family at her side. 

"See," her brother says to her comfortingly. "It's not so bad."

"Are you kidding?" she answers him incredulously. "Any minute, he's going to look at me and say, "You're so not worth it."

"Yes, you are," her brother tells her, without missing a beat.

We look at what Jesus had to go through to bring us—with all our baggage and our shortcomings—into His family, and we say to Him, "I'm so not worth it."

Without missing a beat, our sweet Savior tells us, "Yes, beloved, you are."