I belong to a church that believes in making covenants with God. I have always believed in making covenants even though I wasn't sure what it meant. I knew it meant happiness! I saw it in the people around me who made covenants. I saw an extra brightness and goodness around them. I felt it and I knew I wanted it. I grew up knowing that I would make covenants at certain times in my life and it meant life would be good and without realizing it, I think it meant easy.
As life has progressed, I have made these special covenants with God and life really has been good. But since making these covenants, I have found life isn't easy. Life is actually a little harder! Why is that? If I'm making covenants with God to keep Him more at the forefront of my life, why would life be harder in some ways?
I've studied over the years and have accepted the answer of how everyone needs trials in their life. That is the whole reason we came to this earth. But somewhere deep inside I kept questioning, shouldn't I be getting blessings from covenant living that make me have easier trials? Shouldn't the harder trials be for those who aren't trying to live the way God wants us to live?
I don't know if anyone else has ever felt this way. There are days where I feel guilty for asking these questions and then other days that I know these question is going to lead me closer to God.
Well, today was the day that I finally had my personal aha moment. That moment that my mind opened up to a more meaningful learning. A learning that finally resided with my spirit. I hope that I am able to put into words what my spirit has been feeling. I hope that maybe it can lead someone else who is struggling with the same concept to a study that can bring peace to their soul.
I was studying along with inkling institute week 14. The conference talk was Why the Covenant Path by Elder D Todd Christofferson and then a scripture study in 1 Corinthians 3:5-23 and Isaiah 43:1-5. This conference talks has been one of my favorite since October.
The institute class began with Elder Christofferson's talk and how being on the covenant path requires more work and sacrifice. They began to discuss committed obedience and Emily Belle Freeman reminded us that Elder Christofferson taught us years ago that "exact obedience brings miracles". I was ready for it. I wanted to hear exactly what I needed to do to make sure I was living perfectly on the covenant path. But instead she reminded us that we have to be extremely careful with the phrase "exact obedience" because it can lead us to become like the pharisees. They lived every commandment and law to the T. But they forgot about relationships in the process. All they cared about was that they were living perfectly and the people around them were living perfectly. Crap! That's what I tend to do. I don't mean too, my heart is trying to live the way God wants me too, but I'm too caught up in exactness of the letter of the law, that I've forgotten about the relationship with God.
Listening, I was on the edge of my chair. This was exactly what I needed to hear. Without realizing it, I had become a pharisee of our day. I had somehow put myself above others thinking that I was living more righteously than them because of the covenants I had made with God.
Emily continued to describe what our exact obedience needs to be. She called it, "covenant obedience". She went on to explain that covenant obedience is an exactness in our relationship with God. That as we have the ups and downs of life we are seeking God at all points. And when we do slip up and break a commandment, we quickly return to Him through repentance and seek to be better.
As we live the covenant path we must be careful not to judge others. Don't fall into the pharisee trap like me. No one is better than anyone else. There is no comparing because it's individual. It is completely individual because it is a relationship!
I thought of the story of Peter walking on the water. Isn't that what living a covenant path is?! Christ invites me (us) to join him. For me, I immediately jump towards him. I see miracles with the initial walking and think nothing is going to stop me. Then trials come. Initially I am fine, but the more I'm getting bombarded by the distractions of the world, I loose my focus on Christ and sink. In my moment of drowning and fear, I call out for Christ to rescue me. To save me from the storm. He IMMEDIATELY comes! Together we walk on the water.
Living a covenant path to me means that I'm striving daily to be ALL in on my relationship with Christ. I'm doing the little and big things that are going to bring me closer to him. It means that I am willing to walk on the water despite the winds and waves that are crashing around me. It means my focus will stay on Christ always! It means that when I do loose focus, I immediately call for his help. I don't try to focus on my strength. I don't try to tread water thinking I can rise to the surface again. I rely on Christ in all things.
This is all he is asking of us. He is just asking us to be all in. He is asking us to always remember him. He is asking us to lean on him.
In Isaiah 43 it describes Christ all in relationship.
1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have aredeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
2 When thou passest through the awaters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the bfire, thou shalt not be cburned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3 For I am the Lord thy God, the aHoly One of Israel, thy bSaviour: I gave cEgypt for thy dransom, Ethiopia and eSeba for thee.
4 Since thou wast aprecious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
5 aFear not: for I am with thee: I will bbring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
Life will be hard for all of us because we live in a mortal world. But living a covenant life will be more challenging because it takes work. We can't just make a covenant and think we are done. Rio reminded us in the study that we are constantly needing to renew that covenant with God. It's a life long work. It takes time and it takes the grace of Christ to be able to maintain that covenant with God. But it is possible! As we do it we become who God needs and wants us to be.
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