Tidbits for Thought

COVENANT OR PROMISE

Psalm 145:13 “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures through all generations. The

Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He

has made.”

My limited theological knowledge tells me that a covenant is

a scared and binding agreement initiated by God between

himself and humans…. a promise on steroids. In a covenant

relationship, God makes promises and sets conditions

whereas a promise does not necessarily contain conditions.

To put it very simply, every covenant is a promise but every

promise is not a covenant.

The human condition on this fallen planet almost assures us

that at some time in our lives we will be the victim of a

broken promise whether it be a promise from our governing

bodies, a promise from our employer, a promise from a

friend, relative or spouse or a promise from ourselves. When

someone does not keep a promise to us, it impacts us in

many, many ways. We might feel betrayed, we might feel

disgust or anger, we might feel apathy, as if we expected the

promise to be broken. If the promise was to ourselves the

emotion might be one of great sadness, disappointment or

even grief. A promise is a commitment that we make to

ourselves or other people and breaking that promise impacts

us just as it does the person to whom the promise was made.

Our view of ourselves might very well be shaken to the core

and we might be filled with self-disgust. When we promise

someone something, including ourselves, we put our

integrity, trust, values and relationship on the line…. not

something to take lightly.

There is one place where covenants are fulfilled and

promises are kept fully and without exception, and that place

is in our relationship with God. His promises of forgiveness,

mercy, grace, peace and salvation extend to ALL of His

children, including every race, ethnic group, social status or

individual world view. That simply means that when we

encounter the homeless, the immigrant, the grieving, the

poor, the suffering, the Muslim, the atheist, the agnostic or

any of the different inhabitants of our world, we are looking

directly into the eyes of one who God promised to forgive,

love and cherish.

If we keep that picture in mind, it could equip us to better

navigate the unruly world that we inhabit today. If every

person could see the Christ in the very next person they

encounter, it would be very hard to feel bigotry, hate, distain

or apathy toward that person. It would be hard to ignore the

need that might be apparent in their life. It would be hard to

refuse to forgive that person for any wrongs. It would be

very hard not to love that person.

Over two thousand years ago Augustine made a poignant

observation when he wrote, “God loves each of us as if there

were only one of us.” ……an observation that we all might

strive to live by, starting today. Think about it!      ~ Aron Smith