Hebrews 8:10b

I will be their God, and they will be my people.

I’m convinced.

If the Bible were a song, this would be the refrain. “I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

It’s not actually set to music, but this is what God is offering us, time and again. It’s a great deal, and one that bears repeating. In fact, the phrase appears numerous times in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Corinthians, Hebrews, and Revelation. Long before this chorus entered the scriptures, the Psalmists talked about “singing a new song," anticipating something new coming.

And indeed, here we are given a New Covenant, a new way of being in relationship with God. Not just conveyed by some intermediary priest, but to be experienced as a song in each heart, each person. And when God’s Kingdom comes to fully bear on this world, that’s the way it will be. A total, awesome, universal masterpiece.

But notice. The phrase doesn’t say, “I will be your God, and you will be my person.” No, we’re talking about PEOPLE here. Plural. All people. It’s hard enough keeping God’s song running through your head, but when it comes to actually joining our voices in harmony, we seem to always run into problems. That, too, is a refrain in the song of scripture.

What in your life keeps you from singing God’s praises? Is it fear? Selfishness? Addiction? Unresolved anger? There’s a long list of things that keep us from lending our voices to such an offer from God, and many have to do with how we fail to love our neighbors.

The Good News? Even if we humans never learn how to be God’s choir, God’s song will never end. God was on the scene first, being our God. God even sent Jesus to show us how to carry the tune.

The thing us, this salvation tune is worth getting stuck in your head and your soul and on the tip of your tongue. This promise is worth repeating and repeating. Hear it again: “I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

So let’s try.

Let’s try to do our very best to be God’s people, to get this chorus stuck in our ears, and sing with our brothers and sisters.

Let’s do our best to keep God’s New Covenant chorus climbing the charts like a rocket … and may we, as God’s people, refrain from ignoring this refrain.

-- Rev. Mitch Todd
K-State Wesley campus pastor
mtodd@greatplainsumc.org

Prayer for Reflection

Joel 2:23-32
Psalm 65
Sirach 35:12-17
Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22
Psalm 84:1-7
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14