Last night I had the privilege of being in the audience at Grace Center with Bethel's Kris Valloton. I'm borrowing from his message, it was so striking. The message was about what real covenant looks like as rooted in the scripture, and there were two powerful take aways that stood out to me:
1) Vulnerability
"After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. "
1 Samuel 18:1-4 NIV
Jonathan and David had become one in spirit, knitted together, and Jonathan so trusted David that he gave David both his own armor and weaponry, in the process making himself transparent and vulnerable to David. Had David been malicious or evil he could've murdered Jonathan, since Jonathan had uncovered and unshielded himself. Jonathan was King Saul's son, more powerful than David, who came from a shepherd family, yet Jonathan renewed his covenant with David three times. Kris talked about "camaraderie being rooted in covenant, but covenants are not rooted in camaraderie" - camaraderie involves two or more parties united against a common foe. Covenant, however, removes the "us vs. them" mindset, and is laced through and through with grace- defined as the operational power of God.
Covenantal love that stands the challenges of life's seasons requires stepping out of our own emotional armor, being summed up by this quote:
"You can only love people to the depths that you will let them hurt you."
2) Covenant or Co-habitation?
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." John 15:12, 13 NIV
In covenant relationships those who have entered are prepared to even lay down their lives for the others, but where there is only cohabitation, those involved are only interested in what they can extract from this arrangement. I'm not just referring to marriage here but neither was Jesus- He was talking to his followers, his friends. Jesus is the incarnation and product of COVENANT, His human ancestors were those who choose to enter into covenants: Abraham, Ruth, David.
We as followers of Jesus cannot benefit from His teachings unless we are willing to follow Him, as Lord. After all, He tells us that those who want to follow Him- in covenant- must deny themselves and pick up their crosses daily. Crucified on our own crosses are pride, arrogance, judgement, our "rights", our selves. I would submit to you that our self righteousness yanks the nails out of our own crosses and uses them to crucify those we should love and edify.
Kris also discussed the facts that we cannot take "suffering out of the Gospels" ( look at the life of Paul, who called himself an imitator of Christ), and 1 Cor.13:4 reminds us that "love suffers long and is kind", and once again, I was reminded that "grace is the operational power of God."
1) Vulnerability
"After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. "
1 Samuel 18:1-4 NIV
Jonathan and David had become one in spirit, knitted together, and Jonathan so trusted David that he gave David both his own armor and weaponry, in the process making himself transparent and vulnerable to David. Had David been malicious or evil he could've murdered Jonathan, since Jonathan had uncovered and unshielded himself. Jonathan was King Saul's son, more powerful than David, who came from a shepherd family, yet Jonathan renewed his covenant with David three times. Kris talked about "camaraderie being rooted in covenant, but covenants are not rooted in camaraderie" - camaraderie involves two or more parties united against a common foe. Covenant, however, removes the "us vs. them" mindset, and is laced through and through with grace- defined as the operational power of God.
Covenantal love that stands the challenges of life's seasons requires stepping out of our own emotional armor, being summed up by this quote:
"You can only love people to the depths that you will let them hurt you."
2) Covenant or Co-habitation?
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." John 15:12, 13 NIV
In covenant relationships those who have entered are prepared to even lay down their lives for the others, but where there is only cohabitation, those involved are only interested in what they can extract from this arrangement. I'm not just referring to marriage here but neither was Jesus- He was talking to his followers, his friends. Jesus is the incarnation and product of COVENANT, His human ancestors were those who choose to enter into covenants: Abraham, Ruth, David.
We as followers of Jesus cannot benefit from His teachings unless we are willing to follow Him, as Lord. After all, He tells us that those who want to follow Him- in covenant- must deny themselves and pick up their crosses daily. Crucified on our own crosses are pride, arrogance, judgement, our "rights", our selves. I would submit to you that our self righteousness yanks the nails out of our own crosses and uses them to crucify those we should love and edify.
Kris also discussed the facts that we cannot take "suffering out of the Gospels" ( look at the life of Paul, who called himself an imitator of Christ), and 1 Cor.13:4 reminds us that "love suffers long and is kind", and once again, I was reminded that "grace is the operational power of God."
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