Covenant Testimony

This article was written by Theda Williams.

“I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”

I sat quietly on the couch between my mom and dad. Since I was the youngest of five, this was my usual spot whenever the family was together. My brothers and sisters were all there as well, sitting in their designated places as we went through the frightening experience of “house visitation.” Two elders, or sometimes, (as in this case), an elder and the Pastor came to check on the spiritual well-being of each household within the church. My Pastor asked questions of everyone, right on down the line, and then he came to me. “Theda, do you love the Lord?” That was my question and I gave the answer he wanted when I squeaked out a “yes.”

Recently when I came to a Wednesday night prayer meeting, we were asked to sit in silence for what seemed to be a long time, and listen for God to speak to us. When I finally quieted my mind, I found myself, as Peter did, on the beach with Jesus. Jesus looked at me and asked me the same question that he asked Peter—the same question I had been asked as a child. “Do you love me?” The question is a simple one, but I suspect it’s one of the few questions in life that really matter.

My mother and my father both loved Jesus, as did my grandparents. In fact, I don’t know how far back I’d have to go to find the ancestors who started this all—maybe there was some big revival in the Netherlands hundreds of years ago. But I do know that faith in Jesus has been part of my family for many generations in the past and hopefully well into the future. As a child, I often wondered how I got to be so “lucky”, to be raised in a household that believed what seemed to be all the right stuff. Later, that lucky feeling changed to doubts and questions; and now I just feel “blessed.”

The word “covenant” as it relates to faith is a comfort for some, and a problem for others. Before we had our oldest child baptized, our pastor explained it to us this way. Growing up in a Christian home is like being given a check. This check may be worth a lot of money, but it is only when you endorse it that it really has any value. So, as a child growing up in the presence of God’s covenant, I still had to claim Him for myself, which I did at age 15. For me, that involved publicly confessing my faith in my church.

Yes, there are advantages to belonging to God’s covenant, but there are no special guarantees. My oldest brother decided not to claim God’s promises in his life. (At this point we might think that “5 out of 6” isn’t bad—but that’s not how God sees it. We can’t forget the shepherd leaving the ninety nine to go after the one, can we?)

I know now that the heritage of faith, the sense of covenant in my home, has also been a source of envy to some. I’ve thought a lot about that lately. But then, I imagine the excitement of being called by God to be the first in a long line of believers, as Abraham was. Abraham went on an adventure that I could never imagine. God’s call and God’s promise always started with an individual. In my family it started years ago. In your family, could it be you? How exciting would that be? Some of us have taken our faith for granted for so many years. Often I’ve prayed “restore to me the joy of my salvation” so that my faith would never grow stale or mundane.

So, we all have our place here; seekers, first time believers, and those who trace an ancestry of faith that goes way back. I thank God for that rich heritage. I’ve done my best to pass it on to my children. Last weekend, as I held my tiny grandson, I sang quiet songs of praise on his behalf, and whispered prayers in his ears—prayers that he too would understand God’s covenant with him and would someday claim his place as God’s child.