~ Micah 6:8, NLT
I was reading a devotional this morning and this verse hit me right where I live. There it is, the key to living with God: Four words: Good, Right, Mercy, and Humility. The key to life, if you will. That old question that, it seems if you read books, watch movies, or anything else, we all ask. "Why am I here?" The answer it there in Micah 6:8. "NO, o people, the Lord had told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" There it is, the meaning of life.
What is Right? It seems, it is not always the easiest thing to know. We get mixed signals all the time from this world. But, hey look at the first line of Micah 6:8 ".....the LORD has told you what is good,,,,,,,,,,,," Do you see anything about the world telling us what is good in that verse? No, so that means only God can tell and show us what is really GOOD. OK< then stop listening to the world for the answers to our question of what is good. Now next we read what God requires of us. Let's stop a minute right here. When you truly love someone, do you do what they "require of you?" Yes, and no. Yes, because we love them, but the word "require" bothers us, doesn't it? God is our Father, He has position over us, He is in charge, and yes He does love us more then we could ever imagine. I love my Father, but he is my Dad, and therefore I respect his wishes, or requirements. See, we are obedient to God both because we love Him, and also because we acknowledge He is in charge of our lives, we have voluntarily let Him in to our lives. So if we truly LOVE our Father, Jehovah, God, we will do what He requires out of respect and love for HIM> So what is the first thing He requires of us? To do what is right. OK, we already recognized He has told us what is good, therefore doing what is right is JUST obeying Him, right? How easy is that? Actually it is easy, we are the ones who make it hard. We have that old Lucifer syndrome, you know, PRIDE. WE want the power, the praise, the credit, did I say POWER? Yes, we know what God told us is good and right, BUT, why would we want to do that? If we did it that way we wouldn't get any of the credit, God would. Now of course we never say this out loud or even to ourselves very loudly, I mean God can hear our thoughts, He is everywhere. BUT is this sometimes how we actually feel? I do, and then I feel guilty for feeling this selfish. Have you ever confessed this feeling? I have. God listens and understands.
Now that we have the "Good and Right" things down, what is next? To love mercy. What is mercy? Chris' definition is: To NOT give someone what he has earned, but to show him that you realize he is human, and give him another chance. OK you want a "real" definition, don't you well here you go: a : compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power; also : lenient or compassionate treatment
I don't like the word "forbearance" used there. I had a student loan years ago that was in forbearance, which meant that I was given some time off from making payments. This is in a way Mercy, but God does not "call in " the Judgement later. When He gives mercy it is for all eternity. "All (that is you and I) have sinned.............." so ALL should die. The penalty of sin is DEATH, But God in His MERCY, let's us live. THAT is the REAL meaning of MERCY. So the second thing God Requires of us is to love Mercy. I love it when I am shown mercy, but what about ME showing others mercy? Yes It does work both ways. I believe this is one of the reasons God is so merciful to us, so that we will show mercy to others. "Pass it Own" if you will. (That was a great movie, check it out sometime). God loves us, so that we can and will love others, God shows us mercy so that we will show mercy to others, God wants us to SERVE others by loving, showing compassion, showing mercy, caring, waiting on, being examples to, meeting the needs of, helping, and many other qualities. Mercy comes in many forms, giving a dollar to that guy on the street corner, volunteering to work with "Meals on Wheels", cleaning the bathrooms at church, mowing a shut in's lawn, visiting folks in Nursing Homes or shut in's. Mercy is not always about forgiving someones debt to you, it is sharing what you have with others, it is showing compassion. Have Mercy.
OK here is the last thing in the scripture (Micah 6:8) that God requires of us. .....and to walk humbly with your God. If you are regular reader of this blog, then you know I have covered "Humility" several times. Humility is helping a friend who lives in a Mobil Home. His sewer line under his home has come out of the sewer output pipe. Sewage has leaked for several days before the smell warranted an investigation. You volunteer to crawl under there with a can of PCP glue and fix it for him. You crawl into raw sewage for your friend and take care of the problem. I believe that is a definition of true humility. And no, this is not something I did, or anyone I know. I did this for my own home years and years ago, I would have never asked or allowed anyone to do this for me, it was disgusting and I got bit by ants all over my body. But it is the most disgusting thing I could think of, and if someone had offered to do it for me, I would have been astounded, by their humility. Humility is putting yourself on a lower rung on the ladder then others, on purpose. It is serving and not caring about your clean shirt or jeans. It is caring more for someone else then yourself. BUT notice the last two words of the above scripture: ........with God" See, when we do what God requires, He is there with us. He will never leave us or forsake us, especially when we are doing what He requires. Crawling through sewage to help a friend? God, the maker of the universe is right there with you.
Let's all go out there and do what God requires. He requires us to: Do what is Good, Right, love Mercy, and walk with HIM in Humility.
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