2021 Advent Devotions
Jeremiah 31:31-34 | December 16, 2021
A New Covenant
by David Elliot
One recurring burden of adulthood is the need to enter into contracts. Mortgages, car loans, business agreements—all require each party to concur with the terms of the accord or covenant before attesting with a signature.
Conventional wisdom dictates that the best contracts require compromise, that the goal is a “win-win” scenario where both sides come halfway during negotiations to achieve the important objectives they desire. This usually requires that each side must also sacrifice something substantial as well.
As an army career couple, my wife and I moved ten times in our first thirty years of marriage. We are true veterans of the home-buying contract. Through tough experience, we know when to agree to requests to get a new roof, leave behind our daughter’s favorite outdoor playset, or compromise on a down payment. We also know when to hold firm, such as when a potential buyer wants us to repaint the entire interior in fluorescent turquoise.
Today’s scripture passage, from the 31st chapter of Jeremiah, also describes a contract—the new covenant that he prophesies God will make between himself and his people, stating, “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts… I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” This is the same New Covenant referred to by Jesus during the Last Supper in the Gospel of Luke: “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’”
However, the difference in this contract is that God doesn’t expect us to come halfway to meet Him; He meets us ALL the way where we reside. He lets us become the clear “winners,” achieving unmerited forgiveness and eternal life. God makes all the sacrifice. In the form of Jesus Christ, God undergoes crucifixion on the cross. Our only requirement in the contract is to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior. Jesus acts as mediator of this covenant, justifying us to the Father through our faith in him, granting the Father’s grace for forgiveness and salvation, sealing the deal with his blood.
Prayer: Dear Father, during this Advent season we give you thanks for the arrival of your son, the Great Mediator Jesus Christ, who through your new covenant reconciles us to you by his sacrifice on the cross. We thank you for this supreme act of love that daily bridges the divide created by our own sinful natures. Knowing we are helpless before you, we rely on your grace for our salvation, and dedicate our time and talents in testament of our faith and as gratitude for your love for us.