By Robert Halsey Pine
“For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not ‘Yes and No’; but in him it is always ‘Yes.’ For in him every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes.’ For this reason, it is through him that we say the ‘Amen,’ to the glory of God. But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-22 NRSV).
St. Paul writes here to the Corinthians about the truth of God’s promises though Christ Jesus and His sealing the apostles with God’s Spirit in their hearts as a first installment. In God sending His Son to us, He has said, “Yes” to us for all time. His promises are true, and He accepts us no matter our condition when we repent and return to Him. He is our Father, and He loves us enough to have submitted Jesus to persecution and death on a cross in order to get the message to us. We must strive to be “Yes” people. Being a “Yes” person does not mean that we are weak and cave into anything. It means that we are strong in the Lord and follow His commands. And most important is that we internalize His promises, His yeses, and are open to all.
The looks on our faces should say to the people we meet, “Let us celebrate together the love of our creator who has promised us a place in His kingdom.” A “Yes” expression grounded in the love of God is our greatest gift to each other.
We sometimes want to put on an attitude in order to communicate something to someone. If this attitude is not a “Yes” attitude founded in God’s love, we are separating ourselves from God and others. If we think that being moody will influence a relationship or situation, we are correct. Most likely the influence will be negative. God is not moody with us. His “yes” is truth, and it doesn’t change. We make the choice to say “yes” or “no” to His “Yes.”
We can apply God’s example in Christ Jesus to our own lives. If we are true in the Spirit and thus proclaim God’s promises in our disposition, then it is up to others to say “yes” or “no” to our “Yes” that we have learned from Christ Jesus. We have concerns in the natural world when we slip into our “yes” and “no” state of being. This is not truth, and it reveals our separation from God. Let us take our first installment of His promises by saying “yes” to His Spirit and Amen.
Robert Halsey Pine is a graduate of Northeastern University and completed the program of Theological Education by Extension: Education for Ministry, School of Theology, the University of the South.