Friday, October 23, 2020

Today’s post is written by Deacon Karen Katamay.

“I will make with you an everlasting covenant.” —Isaiah 55:3

“Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight.” —Hebrews 13:20-21

Both of the passages for today talk about God’s covenant. The verse from Isaiah tells of God’s covenant with Israel, and the verses from Hebrews refer to the covenant that God made with us through Jesus. We may remember from Jesus’ words at his last supper with his disciples that he shared with them the new covenant: “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

A covenant is a binding agreement or a promise. When you make a promise to someone, are you always able to keep it? I know I certainly try to keep all my promises, but I know there have been times when I have failed to do so. I sometimes forget the saying that we shouldn’t make promises that we cannot keep. There have been times when I made promises that I would have liked to have kept, but for one reason or another, I was unable to do so, such as promising to call someone then forgetting to do so. As much as I always want to be honest and trustworthy, I have to remember that I am only human and will sometimes fail. I would say the majority of the time I am able to keep my promises, though.

But with God it is different. We can trust God to always keep his promises. God will never fail us or let us down. And if it feels sometimes that maybe God has failed us, we have to stop and ask, “Am I asking God for my will to be done, or God’s will?”

God’s covenant with us is one of love and grace that both stands with us and forgives us at the same time. God’s covenant comes to us through Jesus and saves us. We are so lucky to have a God we can trust all the time and who will never fail us. Thank you, Lord! Amen.