The Matter of Covenant

I woke up a few days ago contemplating covenant, and why it matters.  With my check-ins with our Dwellers lately, there is a sense of being “done” already, moving on to the next thing, and that seems to translate into some things getting overlooked, ignored, etc.  While I very much understand this sentiment, the need to “get ahead” into the next thing (every spare moment I’ve got, I’m rushing to catch up on email, which means I sometimes forget to prioritize time with my family, suddenly with a new baby dynamic once again.  When I’m meeting with a Dweller, I sometimes find myself distractedly thinking about Discern orientation, or how to re-draft a Discover discussion based on some day’s event.  So, I’m just as deserving of any criticism!)

But, here’s what I recognize about Jesus: Jesus knew all along that his mission on earth ultimately led to death on the cross, then resurrection.  With that looming, I can only imagine that a feeling of “let’s get on with it already” would’ve been heavy in my thoughts if I were in that situation, as preposterous an imagining as that is.  But Jesus stayed present with the people he was with: healing, teaching, loving until the last day.  Loving within and beyond the last supper, showing God’s grace and forgiveness even along the death march. 

There is value, great value, in staying committed, even if things are inevitably changing.  All the people Jesus healed probably went on to get sick again, and of course, pass away.  But staying committed until the end, or the change, is what it’s all about.  For a covenant is easy to maintain when everyone feels invested, but it is of course more challenging, and I’d argue, most important, to practice when people are feeling less invested.  God showed great faithfulness to his followers even when they tired of following in the desert.  God showed great faithfulness to the world through Jesus, offering redemption instead of annihilation, and God asks us to stay committed to one another in the same sort of love.  Daily.  No matter what tomorrow brings.

Now is the time to practice loving transition, loving goodbyes, and building a new kind of commitment.   I will work on this with my new family structure, and I will encourage our Dwell team to do so with one another up until the last day together, and encourage you to look at your own commitments, too.  Where has God placed you right now?

Matthew