Never Again

This week marks the beginning of yet another season of God’s ultimate never again.  Jesus’ journey of suffering, death and resurrection is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s covenant that through His love and mercy He will not destroy us but forever be faithful to us.  This is a never again for every day and forever, and it is a never again that was there right from the beginning.  Genesis 9:8-17 gives us one of the most profound early accounts of God’s never again:  God establishes his everlasting covenant for all generations to come between Him and all living creatures of every kind on earth that “never again will all life be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth” (9:11).  For us, the rainbow is the sign of God’s covenant.  And for God, the rainbow will remind Him of his covenant with us.  God’s covenant of never again is our promise every single day that God is faithful and trustworthy.  It brings peace in the midst of the violence of everyday life and it gives hope for everlasting life in the future despite the destruction of death.  May this season of Lent be a profound season of never again for you and me!