Today’s Scripture Reading (October 9,
2012): Joshua 5
To live in a
society (simply meaning living in any gathering of people) we need to be a
people of covenant. What it means to live in covenant is simply to recognize
that whatever it is that I say that I will do, I will do. It applies as much to
major business arrangements as it does to an understanding that I will take out
the garbage when it is ready (or make the bed if I am the last one to get up –
which I usually am.) Our word is absolute - and when our word means something
to us, we do what we say – our society works.
But too
often that is not the society that I live in. I do not experience a covenant
society where what is said is delivered on. Too often I find myself in a
society of lawyers and conditional agreements. A condition agreement says that
if you do something, then I will respond. Conditional agreements have no room
for grace – no allowance for mistakes or troubling circumstances. It is simply
a cause and effect situation. Parenting is a good example of this kind of
relationship. One of the pieces of advice that I give to troubled and besieged
parents is that there needs to be consistency in the home. If the child does something,
either positive or negative, there should be no guessing at what the reaction
is going to be (If you lose your tooth, the tooth fairy will leave a dollar
under your pillow – no negotiation is needed.) Conditional agreements are our
point of entry into the world of covenant relationships. But the problem is
that most of us never seem to grow beyond the conditional agreements.
One of the
favorite lines that people like to tell me is that someday they will get their
lives cleaned up – and at that point they will come back to God. It is like
they think God is keeping a conditional agreement. And to be honest, some of
the language of the Bible is conditional agreement language (if you do, then
God will.) But the conditional language of the Bible is a concession to our own
immaturity. God’s invitation is into a
covenantal relationship.
Israel
existed as a nation in a covenant relationship with God. And in spite of our “if
... then” theology, God does not seem to be interested in it. The mark of the
covenant was circumcision. It was the big if. Circumcision was something that
the world could not understand. In fact, much of the world found the practice
obscene. But for Israel it was a mark of the covenant. But the mark had
apparently been ignored for much of the desert wanderings. But God still
blessed Israel, in spite of their lack he still lived up to his word – his covenant
– setting the example for his people. He proved that he would be a covenantal God.
Life would
be so much better if we would just recognize our covenants, living up to our
words no matter whether or not those around us live up to theirs –
understanding that that is exactly what God does in his relationship with us.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua
6
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