The Covenants of God

God is jealous for us, both individually and as a people. Throughout Scripture God speaks of this desire and establishes what he calls covenants between himself and man. Sometimes these covenants are spoken of as "The Covenant of Works" beginning with Adam and Eve in the garden, and then "The Covenant of Grace" that is centered around the grace we find in the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ. Now, we could spend time defining each of these, but one thing that's struck me recently is the underlying theme of all of God's relational desires for us. He defines it quite succinctly a few times throughout Jeremiah when he says

"I will be their God, and they will be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33).

Isn't this incredible? We can look at this from both our perspective and His. From His perspective, he wants to be our God (Exodus 20:2) by shepherding us (Psalm 23:1), keeping us safe in the day of trouble (Psalm 27:5), leading us from temptation (Matthew 6:12), disciplining us (Deuteronomy 8:5), loving us (1 John 4:19), working things out for our good (Romans 8:28), and ultimately giving us eternal life (Romans 6:23). From our perspective, we are to be his people by worshiping him alone as God (Exodus 20:3-6), ascribing Him glory (Psalm 29:1), seeking Him (Psalm 63:1), meeting together (Hebrews 10:25), singing together (Colossians 3:16), suffering and rejoicing together (1 Corinthians 12:26) and loving one another (Romans 12:10). [Note: neither of these lists is exhaustive in any context.]
We must now note what the verse does not say. It does not say "I will be your God, and you will be my person." God frequently expresses his promises to groups of people, called the church, of which Christ is the head (Colossians 1:18).
Taken together, we have great insight into the heart of God, which should be our hearts as well. Along with the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20), we can easily see where our priorities are to lie:

1. Love God
2. Love the Saints
3. Love the Lost

Praise God for his unchanging and everlasting covenants with us!