What is an expectation?

That is a crazy title! Everyone knows what an expectation is. And therein lies the problem! I have been married for many years and have counseled many married people. I believe the basic problem in a marriage is the lack of communication on a deep, personal level. I think people say what they feel people want to hear and hide what they really feel because of certain fears or reluctance to share. To truly understand a covenant there has to be a sharing of the expectation of that covenant. We want to hear from the other person why they have instigated the covenant or why they responded to it. How often young couples ask each other, "Do you love me?", just because they want to hear it spoken. Communication on this level is vital for a healthy marriage.

Do we understand God's expectation? I looked intently at God's relationship with the nation Israel. It began with His covenant with Abraham and continually progressed through the prophets. God wanted a relationship with that nation. He had certain expectations from them as a nation as well as individuals. I want us to look at the corporate relationship. God expected to be revealed to the world through this nation's response to Him. He was willing to be their King and take a vital role in their protection and prosperity. In so doing, the world around them would know that Israel served a living, powerful, majestic God and so reveal the lie of mute idols. He would lead them through prophets and meet them through the priests. Their covenant response to Him through their trust and obedience to His Law would create the interaction of their covenant relationship. They would be blessed by Him and all the nations would see the evidence of a Living, Eternal God. But what happened? The nation Israel chose to be like the other nations and actually began to worship their gods! This began when Moses came down from the mountain, Sinai, with His face glowing from beholding Jehovah, the God of Israel! They chose not to have that vital relationship with Him but to be represented by Moses and let him be the go-between!

In the progressive unveiling of God's plan to achieve His purpose of creating man in His image, we see the church of the New Covenant. What did Jesus say He wanted? He asked His disciples to be witnesses of His resurrection! He wanted the world around them to know they worshipped a Living, Eternal God. They were to tarry in Jerusalem until they were filled with the same Spirit that filled Jesus as He walked among them and led them. They were to continue His ministry, doing as He had been doing with them. Their covenant response was to reveal His resurrection by yielding to the Spirit of God as He yielded. They were to continue to follow Him, now guided by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said He was returning to a church without spot or wrinkle, a victorious church prepared as a bride to welcome her Bridegroom. Only as we, His Church, yield to the Holy Spirit to reveal the Living Lord through us, and we give to Him the covenant response to be witnesses of His Resurrection, are we going to be to the world around us what God wants us to be. We cannot desire to be like the world and reveal a Living Savior. His love, His mercy, His forgiveness and His total surrender of His will to the Father's will must live in us as our first response to the circumstances and false worship of this world. Only our total surrender to Him can produce this in us.

We have a challenge before us to give to God the Covenant response he expects from us!