Neither Will I

2.16.2010

Leviticus 26:44 44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. ESV

It might get bent pretty bad, but it will never get broken. The Lord may discipline and chastise, but He doesn’t forget Who He is or what He’s said; they will remain His people forever; He will stand by His covenant regardless.

The list of blessings in Leviticus 26 is shorter but of far greater magnitude than the list of curses. The list of curses is long and severe but not too long or too severe to cause the Lord to give up on His promises. The Lord disciplines but He isn’t into retaliation against His own; the ungodly perhaps, but to His own – never.

This makes me think of the quality of my relationships. This makes me consider the standard for the child of God when it comes to devotion, loyalty, and longsuffering in relationships – if God doesn’t give up, should I? Life is too short to leave out forgiveness, reconciliation, and encouragement, let alone talking it over and talking it out.

I might live this way: Yet for all that, when he is in the land of his offense, I won’t give up on him or seek revenge in order to completely sever my friendship with him. I’ll remember why we became friends in the first place and the greatness of what we have in common in Christ – for I value him and I value friendship and forgiveness.

Lord God,

You never give up on me so why would I give up on others. Help me to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; to be quick to forgive and to be full of grace always. May I live according to doing unto others as I would have them do unto me and do it all in the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus Christ – in His Name, amen.