Living in a Covenant Community
Wow! It’s that time of year! School’s out … Graduating seniors … Family Camp … Summer Series guest speakers … Picnics in the new shelter … Worship outside … Youth group trips … Weddings outside … Summer interns … Vacations … Planting Gardens … Fishing … Mowing lawns … Wait, what? Mowing lawns!?!?
That’s right. It’s that time of year when I need to mow my lawn every third day. Twenty-two years ago, we moved to a “covenant community.” Yup, keeping the lawn fertilized, weeded and mowed is not a choice (along with a whole list of other things).
While non-covenant communities are just fine in many situations, covenant communities also have their advantages. Perhaps the greatest advantage is that there are established standards that keep home values up and keep the community attractive while keeping disputes to a minimum. Mowing every three days is not because of the covenants; it’s because there is a need. We do some things simply because it’s the right thing to do and the right time to do it.
We Christians also live in covenant community. We do things to properly maintain the community of Christ and keep discord down. We do things like leadership … giving of money … giving of time … forsaking self-interests for the interests of others … teaching the lost … discipleship … leading a ministry … providing for the instruction of the children, youth and adults … meeting together … visiting … weddings … funerals … Sunday School … answering a call for help … encouraging the discouraged … and a host of other things that can easily interfere with what we really want to do. However, living in covenant community is essential to maintaining faith and keeping the family of Christ healthy and together until He comes!
Sometimes, when I look out my office window at home I sigh and dread the chore of removing two or four inches from the top of my grass … but it’s the right thing to do. Sometimes, when I see a need in my Christ covenant community, I also sigh and dread the task, hoping someone else steps up to the task. After 70 years, I still find myself occasionally holding on to the “sighing” thing, but that can be overcome by doing something about the present need. Why? Because I live with you in covenant community with our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen?