Thursday, 5th Week: Promises of Love in An Everlasting Covenant

"I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”-- Genesis 17:7

When God makes a covenant with us, God says, "I will love you with an everlasting love. I will be faithful to you, even when you run away from me, reject me, or betray me." In our society we don't speak much about covenants; we speak about contracts. When we make a contract with a person, we say, "I will fulfill my part as long as you fulfill yours. When you don't live up to your promises, I no longer have to live up to mine." Contracts are often broken because the partners are unwilling or unable to be faithful to their terms.

But God did not make a contract with us; God forged a covenant with us, and God wants our relationships with one another to reflect that covenant. The deep mystery of this covenantal love is rooted in God’s faithfulness more than ours. Regardless of our infidelity, God keeps God’s promise of everlasting love. That is why marriage, friendship, and life in community are all ways to give visibility to God's faithfulness in our lives together.

"O Faithful One, help me to be faithful to all my commitments."

 adapted from Henri Nouwen