The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. ~ Jeremiah 31:31-34
"Law" and "heart" aren't normally two words I'd think about in the same sentence.
Something written on the heart is something held dear. Something known deeply and internally. Something that helps define you. Something liberating.
Laws are things that keep us in check and in balance. They can be irritating and controlling. Are they liberating?
Well, yeah. They are. Think of ways in which the laws of this nation or community free you. Traffic laws free us to drive around in (hopeful and relative) security.
Law against theft keep me from worrying constantly about my possessions.
The law of this land - the constitution - promises me freedom to worship (or not) as I choose or to speak out against injustice or give my opinion as I choose.
Jeremiah tells of God's new covenant: a new law of promise that will define God's people. And it will be written on their hearts.
As liberation.
This law, this covenant frees us from our often mixed up motives and selfishness. It frees us from our sin.
It frees us to know who we truly are and WHOSE we truly are.
Liberating God, I am yours. You have freed me. Keep that truth always on my heart. Amen
Comments