We Need A New Covenant Between Each Other, God Already Loves Us

by Eric Elkin

“The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. ”

— Jeremiah 31:31

Last night I dreamed I was eating out in a restaurant. Peggy and I were together, laughing and having a wonderful evening. The place was full of life. Everyone was having a good time. As I looked around the room, no one was wearing a mask, not even Peggy and me. There was also no anxiety about being so exposed.

When I awoke this morning and read Jeremiah, the words “the time is coming” took me right back into my dream. I long for the day I can go out and not be afraid. Maybe afraid is not the right word. Anxious is probably a better description. Life is better when one can live with fewer restrictions. I know the day is coming. Until it does, I hold on in the hope of it arriving.

Masks are not the only expression of limitation in my life these days. My vocabulary has developed its own level of quarantine restrictions. If my words are not liberal enough, I am being oppressive and close-minded. If they are interpreted as liberal, then I am abandoning the Gospel for a progressive agenda.

I dream of a day where elected leaders actually compromise for the good of the nation. For some reason, compromise has become a sign of weakness. It is a disease or affliction one must avoid. But what human relationship can exist without it. Whether in a marriage or a friendship, divorce is often the only alternative to those who cannot find common ground.

“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”

— Margaret J. Wheatley

The words in Jeremiah are more relevant than most of us realize. Christians tend to claim these words as a foretelling of Christ. To them, the old covenant with Israel and Judah gives way to the new covenant with Jesus. While something new in Christ will come, this is not the issue here.

Israel and Judah got angry with each other. They divided the unified kingdom of David and Solomon because they could not agree nor compromise their views. As a result, a foreign power came in and destroyed them both. The invading forces exiled the people into distant lands. They robbed them of their identity. So Jeremiah speaks words of hope to a wounded people.

I’m not suggesting the United States is on the verge of collapse. I am saying that life, masks or no masks, becomes very restrictive when we cannot find our common ground. When our neighbor is a threat to our safety, there is no peace. If our co-worker is a liar, neither of us will experience trust. If we are always on the brink of collapse, we will never know hope. We need a new covenant with each other. God already loves us.

I dream of a day that I know is surely coming when masks will not be the only thing to go away. The place in my dreams, where I am dining with Peg, knows hope, peace, joy, and the gift of living abundantly. The people in this restaurant are free to laugh, dance and sing. The freedom comes from knowing God has written something on our hearts deeper than a movement, a person, or one specific time in history.

Click to read Jeremiah 31: 31-34