A man, seriously ill in the hospital, requested a visit from his pastor. "Pastor," he said, "if you pray for me and I recover, I will give $25,000 to the building fund." The pastor prayed and the patient recovered completely. The pastor tactfully tried to remind his parishioner about the promise. Stonewalled, the minister put it on the line, "Jim, you promised to give $25,000 to the building fund when you became well." "Did I?" answered the newly recovered man. "Well, that should give you some idea of how sick I was."

Broken contracts — promises not kept — it's part of the human experience. It's a part of the human story in the Bible.

Take a look at Father Abraham. God made a deal with him. The deal was signed with the blood of animals that were cut in two. (People now use printed paper …