It goes without saying that God is a creator. God is a creator of all things, seen and unseen, in the physical world and in the world that goes deep into the human heart. It should come as no surprise that in the Genesis text, God is the creator of the unbreakable relationship referred to as a covenant. God’s covenant with us will never be broken by God.

Unfortunately, unbreakable is not a word with which we are familiar when it comes to covenants or agreements. That’s why we have prenups, divorce attorneys, loopholes, and fine print in documents. We humans are too prone to the vagaries of the heart and emotions. Too often we are looking for an out. But this is not the way that God operates.

Once we accept God’s covenant, we find that God is all-in. God is so invested in us that the Almighty infuses and infects us with change—change of name, change of circumstances, change of life trajectory. When God’s covenant is implemented, we should expect that our whole world will turn upside down.

This is what happened to Abram/Abraham. The old tribal chieftain went from being Abram, exalted father, to Abraham, father of many nations. It also happened to Jacob who went from follower, to Israel, he who wrestled with God and lived to tell about it. It happened to Saul, which means asked for, who became Paul, which means humbled. (Was he ever!) Each of these men had the entire scope of their lives changed because God said, “I will make a covenant between me and you…”

Now, let’s note that none of these guys were very good at keeping covenants on their ends and none of them were folks you would want as a buddy, at least not before God got hold of them. Abram was a liar and a conniver, Jacob was a cheat and a trickster, and Saul held the coats of those who murdered Stephen. But as we’ve come to know, every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. And once God claims and renames sinners—establishes a covenant with them—the future is amazing.

In the cross and in Baptism, God’s covenant claims us and offers us unlimited spiritual potential. God renames us as daughter and son, children of grace. That’s our future and that’s forever.