Covenant

So, I've been learning a lot lately about what a Covenant means, and how truly important it is... and how serious God takes them..

Here's a couple points of my thought process on what a Covenant is...

A promise - noun a declaration that something will or will not be done, given.
An oath - noun a solemn appeal to a deity, or to some revered person or thing, to witness one's determination to speak the truth, to keep a promise.

A Covenant - noun A binding agreement; a compact.

A couple weeks ago I called my dad to ask him a couple questions I had about Jacob and Esau and why it was that Jacob was able to steal Esau's "Blessing" and why it couldn't just be reversed. Dad explained that God takes covenants seriously. If you make a covenant regardless of if you were tricked into it, meant it for someone else, didn't know what you were saying/ getting yourself into etc..etc.. God will hold you to it. Which, when I first heard this I was like "But, that's not fair if you didn't mean it or were tricked into it.."

But, then I mulled over it a while, and I realized... What if GOD looked at me that way? What if He decided I wasn't worth it anymore? What if he decided I tricked Him and I am no longer the girl He first grew to love?... What if God decided I was too much work and I wasn't trying hard enough anymore?.. Just the thought of those things make me tear up.. What if God decided he didn't want to love me anymore?..

I would be devastated.

I mean seriously I think my world would fall apart. I wouldn't know what to do anymore because not only do I rely on Him in the good times, but when I'm going through bad times I feel like He is all I have... And, to have Him CHOOSE to not be there anymore.. It would shatter everything I believed in.. everything comfortingly constant about Him would cease to be.

Ok, pause that thought process for a minute...

Now, what about marriage? Well currently at church we're going through a series called "Life: The Ultimate Game" and you guessed it.. it's using the actual game Life as a teaching illustration. This past week we talked about marriage and Jerry Falwell did a great job unpacking how people allow themselves to have lingering thoughts which slowly grow.. and eventually create this huge chasm between them and their spouse, and them and God.

The whole time he was speaking I was putting it all into perspective of my newly learned idea of Covenant.. It's interesting because when you look at it the same way God looks at us, it becomes a battle. As much as it depends on you, you do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to hold it together. You get on your knees and pray for it. Shut off anything that is causing distractions..

Anything (pronoun, adverb any thing whatever; something, no matter what, in any degree; to any extent; in any way; at all.).

(The only exception I've been able to find is adultery that cannot be solved and/or forgiven... and I'm still trying to figure out where abuse fits in there. But, anyway I digress...)

When you look at it that way it shouldn't matter that you no longer "feel" anything.. it shouldn't matter that they are different a few years down the road.. it shouldn't matter that you are busy and you argue all the time.. What matters is you made a Covenant with TWO people.. in front of a whole slew of people.. You made the Covenant with God and He accepted. You made the Covenant with your spouse and they with you.. and you both accepted.

When you think of the magnitude of it that's HUGE.. And, sadly the divorce rate in "the church" is the same as outside "the church".. it makes my heart hurt.

This word means so much more than I ever really gave it credit for. Because if you think about it.. God made a Covenant with us to never destroy all of us because of our evil again.. What if He decided we are too much work and He doesn't "feel" like following through anymore with his end of the bargain!.. Well.. we'd all be wiped out by a massive flood again.. eek!

So.. Covenant.. What things have you made a Covenant to? Are you fulfilling your end of it?