Jo Bower's Blog

The old covenant is incomplete,
A new is needed.
And we accept that without understanding either.
Yet, perhaps we do
And don’t realize we know the difference between the two.

We begin the journey with friendship which fills a specific need and place in our lives.
If we follow a friendship covenant, knowing each person has their own friendship expression,
We commit ourselves to a certain level of action and trust.
It is an identity apart from, yet encompasses us who are involved.
Friendship is a beautiful thing, and without it we are emotionally bereft.

Let’s say this is the first covenant we enter into outside our family relationships.
Some friends we don’t often see, but we pick up where we left it when opportunity arises.
There are friendships that need adequate contact and giving from both sides to remain active.
Sometimes we share equal status, education, spiritual development, age, interests,
And sometimes the friendship is unusual, involving very different people in status, education….

But for many of us, there is something beyond that first covenant.
We long for intimacy beyond the bonds of friendship, and long for children.
But this calls for a new covenant, a different level of giving to another person.
Marriage is this internalization of total commitment beyond the commitment of friendship activities;
A mutual servanthood that’s possible only if love comes first.

And so it is with God.
The first, Old Testament, covenant covered how to act and be.
And from being righteous came salvation.
It’s not a question of God being in the person, helping them be righteous,
But a matter of keeping the law with God’s help.

When God sent Christ, a new covenant is formed.
Christ becomes the agent and example through which we allow God to change our heart and being.
Love and commitment becomes internalized, and from that relationship
We are made righteous and find salvation.
Now our actions and being all stem from that internal relationship.

As with marriage, there are always guidelines,
Things we do because they are best for other people,
Service given freely no matter the cost to us,
Balanced by personal time taken for growth and refreshment.
And life becomes a series of relationships, based on our covenant with God.

Based on Hebrews Chapter 8