Jeremiah 31 is one of the few OT statements promising a New Covenant that God would make with His people (v. 31ff), a promise of a new kind of relationship. All those in Christ have currently entered into it, even if only partially until His return to earth in Kingdom glory.
But as I read through this chapter, what captured my attention this morning, was what happens when the Jewish nation when their Messiah finally rescues them from all their enemies and blesses their lives with every good thing an agrarian people could want - grain, new wine, oil, fields full of lambs and calves - their lives will be like a watered garden, never dry again (v. 10-14). And they respond! They shout for joy; they beam with gladness; the young women dance, and the young men and elderly join in; the soul's of the priests are filled with abundance, and all the people are satisfied with God's goodness.
I greatly anticipate that day in the Kingdom when I myself will experience with them that kind of physical blessing. However, the passage made me ask myself, as one who is already experiencing the great spiritual bounties of the New Covenant, "am I responding like that to my spiritual blessings in Christ?"
After all...
- have I not been rescued from ALL my spiritual enemies (1 John 4:4),
- do I not have access to all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are Christ's (Col 2:2-3),
- have I not been given in God's Word and through His Spirit all that is necessary for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:2-4)
- have not I been freed from my self-inflicted enslavement to sin (Rom 6:17-18), and all its consequences in my life, like bitterness, self-absorption, endless & insatiable thirst for personal pleasure, and the restless inability to rid myself of guilt (James 3:14-16)
- have I not been granted a settled peace in my soul, a joy in serving others gladly, a heart to give rather than take (James 3:17-18)
- am I not experiencing generally harmonious relationships among my brothers and sisters in Christ (Gal 5:22-26)
How blessed I truly am! So how am I going to respond?
What is needed is for me to continually set my mind on things above, and not so much on the things of this broken world around me. I have been blessed tremendously by my God, and I need to let my face, my lips, and my tongue show it!
I am resolved this Thanksgiving, to consider my spiritual bounty in Christ, and respond as one whose soul is satisfied with His goodness!
Posted on
Mon, November 14, 2011
by Ted Johnson
filed under