We Covenant Together

Every line in the Membership Covenant is important and meaningful, but there are few lines that we wanted to highlight over the next few months.

The first line we wanted to emphasize is this:

“We in the presence of God, angels, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.”

The emphasis is not just entering into covenant with one another as an expression of the local body of Christ but in how we do it. We do it solemnly and joyfully.

A couple weeks ago, my grandfather in Puerto Rico passed away and I was able to go down there for a few days and be with the family down there and attend the funeral. And 2 ways I would characterize my time down there was solemn and yet joyful.

Solemn, because a person that my family and I cared about was no longer with us. And it was hard for me as a grandson to lose my grandfather but the time was made even more solemn because I was only a minor figure in the equation when it came to dealing with this loss. Like to see my mother and here her coming into a greater realization that her father wasn't here anymore. 

Or to see my grandmother, someone who had been married to my grandfather for 62 years, someone who got married when she was 17, when they were married, and to see her face this loss, was sobering. It was a solemn time.

But in a strange way it was also a joyful time. Although most of the family still lived in PR there were a number of us who lived in the States. And being reunited, as a family all together was sweet at so many different moments. The memories we shared about our grandfather had consistent theme of joy and humor and laughter that we couldn’t help but relive joyful moments together. As we shared stories of joyful memories we experienced the joy all over again and even for the memories we weren’t originally apart of we were able to experience the joy of it as if we had been there.

It was a solemn and joyful. Nothing can replace family. But the local church is a family. And even if we aren't bound by the common blood of the same immediate ancestors we are still bound by blood. A blood that allows us to covenant with one another solemnly and joyfully. A blood that was shed on the cross for us that unites people of all walks of life. A blood that binds us not only to each other but to God. Jesus solemnly went to the cross knowing what was at stake and what was about to be accomplished. And he did it joyfully.

And in the same way we enter into covenant with one another, solemnly and joyfully.

Hebrews 12:2 (ESV): Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.

Pray with me.