Promise?

## Engagement

I remember when Kathleen and I began to talk about being in a relationship, she said, “you have to ask my dad.” This was not music to my ears. I may have met him a handful of times prior, but who asks the girl’s father if they can simply date them? I was blown away, but if I wanted to pursue the relationship, I had to do it. David (Kathleen’s father) and I ended up meeting at Applebee’s restaurant one day for lunch, and we mostly talked about church stuff. (He is a pastor, which made me more nervous.) I decided as we were coming to an end of our meal, it was time to ask. We talked briefly about what dating even meant, and what Kathleen and me being in a relationship even looked like. After we went through everything, he gave me permission so I called Kathleen that day. Time passed by, and we were getting serious. We both expressed our feelings to marry one another, and started just browsing at rings. Once things began speeding up, she said to me, “You know you have to ask my dad again, right?” I’m not the most outgoing person in the world and at times struggle to start conversations. Add that to asking a father for his blessing to marry his daughter would stir some nerves up. I ended up working with him on a project at a house outside one day, and felt it would be a good day to talk to him. As we were heading out from the job and calling it a day, I decided to bring it up. He wasn’t surprised. He knew she loved me, and I loved her. He asked me to make sure, and if I was sure, I could ask her. Asking Kathleen to marry me was about pledging promises to one another. The engagement ring would symbolize we were in a closed relationship and would make good on the promise when we recite our

vows before witnesses. Placing the ring on her finger meant I promised to be hers, and she promised to be mine.

## Promised

When you see the word “behold”, you should pay close attention to what follows. Jesus is talking about a promise that God the Father made. We know what that promise was thanks to Joel 2:28-32; Acts 1:8-11, 2:1-41. The Church is called the bride. While there are different opinions when it comes to defining or expounding on that, one point I’d like to make is that Jesus’ first coming was the engagement between He and His Bride. He came to seek and save which was lost, and to invite all who will accept the invitation to join Him at the wedding banquet in heaven. In order to prepare His bride, He had to leave Earth. Jesus is a human being, and thus cannot be everywhere all the time. For people to be saved, then there would need to be a way for Jesus to be known without limitations of humanity. The only way for us to know who Jesus is without ever meeting Him would be the other part of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. He enlightens us so we’re able to see beyond the physical. Wisdom can bring us so far (1 Corinthians 1:21). The heart can be too hardened to see the truth (Ephesians 4:18). And the only way for people to know God is to know Jesus, and the only way for us to know Jesus is by the Spirit (Matthew 11:27, 16:17; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16; Romans 8:5-8; John 3:6-8). Jesus had to go because the Spirit’s job was coming to reveal the Son to us. All believers would come to know the truth and become a witness for Him around the world (Acts 1:8). While there are spiritual gifts listed in other places of the Bible, and I’m not here to argue my thoughts on if they are still for the church or not (for the record I do believe they are still for today), the power is held in the point of being a witness.

## Self-Check

Part of our engagement with God is to invite others to the banquet table He is setting for us. Jesus speaking in a parable illustrates this by

saying in Luke 14:23, “ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.” There is room in God’s house, at God’s table. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we need to be an inviter. The promise came. The power has arrived. We are no longer trapped in darkness. The Holy Spirit has opened our eyes that we may know Christ in His joy and sufferings. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are made right with God. This is a promise we can bank our lives on. Don’t allow sitting in a church service be the end of your Christian journey. We’re called to go out and make disciples. We’re called to invite others to see who God is. We’ve been empowered with a promise.

What He Left Us With...