Top 12 Overlooked Blessings of the New Covenant

Seems like we are stuck in a list-making season so here is a list of 12 overlooked blessings of The New Covenant. If these don’t make you happier to be under grace, then at most they will make you hungry! This list is partly inspired by Paul Ellis’ list of ‘Top 12 Blessings in the New Covenant.”

1.  Bacon. Can you imagine what breakfast would be like without those crispy strips of porkity-goodness? (Lev 11:7)

2.  Medium-rare steak. Under law you were only allowed to eat your steak on the overdone-to-charcoal end of the range. (Lev 7:26-27)

3.  Ostrich. Now I know most of you might not have tried this before, but coming from Africa, we try anything. Ostrich is popular amongst health eaters because its meat is so lean.  (Lev 11:16)

4.  Cheeseburgers. This one would put McDonalds out of business! One couldn’t eat meat and dairy in the same meal because of some obscure interpretation of a law. (Ex 23:19)

5.  Shaving. For those men who do like sporting a beard, like Paul Ellis of course, disregard this number. For those ladies who don’t like smooching sandpaper, aren’t you glad! (Lev 21:5)

6.  Fashion. Also for the ladies but men do benefit from this one too. Imagine only being allowed to wear an outfit made from a single kind of material! My wife would go nuts. (Lev 19:19)

7.  Shellfish. Nothing beats a nice shrimp cocktail, prawn fry-up or lobster tail. And come on, the plot of Forrest Gump would be minus the epic scene where Bubba explains all the different kinds of ways to prepare shrimp! (Lev 11:10)

8.  Football or Rugby. You wouldn’t be allowed to throw the old-pigskin around in the backyard, enjoy the Superbowl, or watch the Springboks take the 2011 Rugby World Cup home to South-Africa. (Sorry Paul). Granted the balls today aren’t made of pigskin anymore, the games might never have been invented in the first place! (Lev 11:8)

9.  Tattoos. Imagine not being able to use your body as a living canvas. Whether you are for or against tats, at least now you have a choice… (Lev 19:28)

10.  Accessorising. At one point God forbid women form wearing ankle bracelets, scarves, headbands, pendants, bracelets, veils, headdresses, leg ornaments, perfume, rings, earrings, nose rings and pretty clothes. They were also not allowed to use a purse or mirrors. Add this to  #6 and my wife would have to be locked up in a padded room. (Isa 3:18-24)

11.  Not being stoned to death! Imagine running the risk of being stoned to death for not listening to your parents. Not many teenagers would make it through puberty…  I definitely would not have made it. (Deut 21:18-21)

12.  Christmas Ham. Ok, I know I have mentioned pork before, but there is obviously more to pork than just bacon. Imagine sandwiches without ham, pizza without pepperoni, no bangers (aka pork sausages) for the Brits, going to a steakhouse that doesn’t serve ribs, having a BBQ without pork chops or not being able have Eisbein or a spit roast. I don’t want to image a world without pork! (Lev 11:7)

Thank you Jesus for Grace!

Cornel