On the second day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas my True Love gave to me... two testaments.

God has revealed Himself to us in Scripture with an old and new testament. With about 400 years of silence between them, the new is in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed. I think that's Augustine... It reminds us of the close connection, no matter the time gap.

Hebrews highlights the difference between the covenants, as Christians were tempted to go back to the temple, back to the old testament. After all, there were physical and tangible experiences there. No, it is passing away and obsolete, even, Hebrews says.

And yet, Paul warns the Roman Christians not to despise the root that supports (present tense!) them. We are grafted into the old testament story. We are all adopted children who come to take on a new family identity as our own. So make sure you read the Old Testament regularly in 2014.