This weekend it was my privilege to teach on the first half of Daniel 9 -- Daniel's amazing prayer and confession of sin.
At the beginning of his prayer (Daniel 9:4)He praises God as "the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with all who love Him and obey His commands."
I am overwelmed with the concept of God’s COVENANT OF LOVE.
A covenant/contract defines the terms of a relationship. God’s covenant with His people flows out of His love. Everything God does for us is driven by love.
The parent-child relationship is an illustration of a covenant of love. Everything the parent does for the child is an expression of their love – not because the child has earned it or always deserves it, but because that’s what a parent does (though parents are imperfect so sometimes fail). A parent makes rules that the child may not like, understand, or agree with, but the rules are an expression of the parent’s love—to protect their child from harm. If the child disobeys, a parent will often discipline them. This may be painful and misunderstood but it is also an expression of love – to help the chilc.
Marriage is a covenant of love, in which both commit that everything they do from that day forward will be done because they love each other. Unfortunately, because we are sinners, we sometimes violate the covenant and act out of selfishness rather than love and the relationship is harmed.
God perfectly enacts His covenant of love. He is never selfish, but always loving. Everything He does flows out of His love. His commands and His discipline are expressions of His love. The Sabbath year and the command to tithe are expressions of His covenant of love. These are discussed in the sermon -- you can listen at www.calvarymuskegon.com (click resources, sermons, launch sermon player -- a few days delay before the messages are posted).
What is my responsibility in this covenant? It is to who love him and obey his commands. If I understand that everything God does is because He loves me, it would be foolish to do anything except to love Him and to obey Him.
