Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV)
Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 on biblegateway.com
Verse 31The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Verse 32It 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. Verse 33But 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. Verse 34No 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.
Devotion
As I sit and reflect on this reading and this promise, I cannot help but think about my two small children. As anyone who has raised young kids knows, an awful lot of energy goes into forming them to be loving, generous, kind, socially aware, driven, polite and productive people. There are days when my head hits the pillow in the evenings, and I am simply exhausted. For me Jeremiah's promise comes as a breath of fresh air; God has not given up on God's people. In the midst of everything I am doing to shape my own life, and the lives of my children, God continues to proclaim the promise that I am not lost—we are not lost—because God has claimed us as God's own. "I will put my law within them…I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for claiming me as your own. Remind me constantly of you love for me and for all creation. Amen.