"But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation
of Israel after I plant them back in the land," says the LORD. "I
will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be
their God and they will be my people. People will no longer need to teach
their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least
important to the most important, will know me," says the LORD. "For I
will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done."
(Jeremiah 31:33-34, NET Bible)
As we read these verses today, we can consider our own spiritual
walk. We can reflect on the reality of God having planted into the hearts of all people the knowledge of His laws, His desires, His sovereignty, and His love.
Even the soul who claims to be atheist will invariably claim a sensing of what
is right or wrong, what is fair or unfair, what is deserved or undeserved. Who
is it that has planted this sense of moral rectitude into our hearts,
independent of our making a confession or knowing a creed? It is God. God has helped
us in a way that we could never have helped ourselves. To paraphrase Jeremiah’s
prophecy, the blueprint of God is etched, by God Himself, into our hearts.
So, we know. And, as an outflow of our knowing, some of us
desire to grow. We want to mature in our faith-walk so that we aren’t only
knowledgeable of God’s law, but that we believe and obey God’s law. We want
to live as joy-filled reflections of His character, His grace, and His love, so that people can see the evidence of what their hearts already know. It’s
not always easy to do so in a world that peddles violence and self-preservation
as the commodities of the day. But if we are rooted and growing in God, then
we will have the strength to display His truths, withstanding the pressures that the world sends our
way.
Lord God, we are grateful that You have written Your law
into our hearts and minds. We want to look more and more like You every day! We
are planted in Your word, and we ask You to care for us so that we will grow in
wisdom, grace, mercy, and love. We ask this in Jesus’s name. Amen.
