DAILY READING
REFLECTION
A Covenant of Love
by Judy Webb
Covenant: An agreement, usually formal; A solemn agreement; The conditional promises made to humanity by God
Making and keeping a covenant is serious business and not something we should enter into lightly. A broken covenant destroys families, ruins countries, and even more, it changes the course of lives.
The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So, I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’” (Jeremiah 11:6-8)
Jeremiah’s ministry took place during the reign of King Josiah. Josiah aimed to free his people from the corrupt influence of paganism and political bondage to Assyria. He abolished the idol worship and tried to lead his people to follow the One True God. But the people had other ideas. They would not submit to God and Josiah’s generation broke the covenant the Lord made with the nation.
After all the years of wandering in the desert, to finally reach the promised land, only to forget the road their ancestors took to get to this place. They rejected God who guided them and freed them from captivity to the Egyptians and they once again fed their lusts and desires by turning away from all that is good.
It is difficult to imagine this ungrateful behavior, but don’t we also do the same thing? It is next to impossible to escape the draw of sin in our lives. No matter how much I read my Bible and study to understand what it means for me, I sin on a daily basis. My thoughts run wild when I hear of an injustice. My anger flares when people of power abuse their authority. My heart seeks justice when I witness an injustice. My motives are not always pure, but often self-indulgent.
PRAYER
Thank you God, that we have a new covenant that is all about forgiveness and grace. Jesus has made it possible that a sinner, like me, can have a relationship of love with the Savior of Man. My sins were forgiven before I was born. Wow - let's wrap our mind around that truth! Amen.
I pray that someday I will be able to truly separate the sin from the sinner. How can I hate the sin of a murderer and still love him and at the same time love the soldier defending our country and justify killing? I try to remember that the murderer is also a Child of God and has chosen the wrong pathways just as our forefathers did and that we are also guilty. God help me to understand .