Scripture
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 The Message (MSG)
 
23-24  May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together-spirit, soul, and body-and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it! 

Meditation

If He Said It, He'll Do It! - Tom Wilkinson
 
My dad died over a decade ago, but many of his "wise sayings," aphorisms imparted to me as an impressionable young guy working side-by-side with him in our small-town Indiana garage, tackling what seemed like innumerable projects, including once rebuilding the rocker arm panels of the engine of a 1963 Buick LeSabre station wagon, remain with me. For example, "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today," "If it's worth doing it's worth doing right," "There's no such thing as 'good enough,'" and finally, "A man is only as good as his word." I'm not sure I entirely agree with all of those, but I accept the last one. You're only as good as your word.
 
Which brings me to the etymology of the word "credit," as in credit card, creditor, and so forth. The Latin root of the word is "credo," which essentially means truth, trust, credibility, honesty, trustworthiness. The original Latin version of the Apostle's Creed uses the word credo in its opening text, "I believe..." "Credo" is the basis for our modern, Western banking system, which has a built-in reliance on the good word of the borrower to repay the debt he or she has assumed with the support of the bank or other financial institution's loan department. (Sorry, I'm a finance guy.)
 
So when Paul, as paraphrased by Eugene Peterson, tells us, " The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it," Paul means it. I do not pretend to be a New Testament Greek scholar but I would not be surprised if the word credo doesn't appear in the ancient text.
 
That's not an empty political promise from a gas-bag politician, but the real deal. Paul is telling us that God is ready and able to make us holy and whole, to keep us fit for the coming of the master who sets the gold standard for "credo."
 
Count on it.

Reflection
Have you ever made a promise you couldn't keep? What did you learn?
Prayer
God of truth, open our hearts and minds and put us on the way to a sound spirit, soul, and body, that we may be ready for you, whenever, wherever, however. Amen.
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