Today’s scripture: Micah 6:6-8 (ESV-text and audio) (NRSV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two before reading on.
My thoughts (Christen Peters):
Have you ever really sat down and asked yourself just what God wants of you? And been willing to hear the answer?
We go to a job interview and we ask what our duties will be. We’re recruited to join a club or a team of some kind and we ask what we’ll be required to contribute. Our kids play sports and we ask the coach how we can help.
We come to church…
We need to consider what God requires of us. What, as Christians, should we be doing?
Does God require that we offer a sacrifice? Our methods have changed from Old Testament times, but our offerings are still important to the life of our congregation.
So is this what God requires of us? Not really.
When we give of our time and money to the church, we are merely returning to God something that already belongs to God. Our offerings come from outside ourselves, so it’s not really anything of us that is being given to God.
God requires that we move from the inside out. We are to DO justice, LOVE kindness, and WALK humbly with our God. All of these require something of our very essence.
DO justice. True justice requires that we do what is right by all creation. We have a choice every day in every interaction. Do you know someone in need? DO justice. Ask yourself what you can do to help them in their need, and what you can do to eliminate the need. Don’t just treat the wound — work to remove the stumbling block that caused the wound.
LOVE kindness. I like peanut butter — a lot. However, I LOVE my family. I will go out of my way to be with my spouse and daughter. Loving kindness is the same. God doesn’t ask that we like kindness, or tell us to do it if it’s convenient. We are required to LOVE kindness. We are to seek out opportunities to commit acts of kindness, just because of the love of God that is in us. When we share that love that God has given us, I think we are giving that love back to God.
WALK humbly with your God. God desires your friendship. Have you ever seen a gaggle of teenage girls and heard one squawking above the rest? She seems a little apart, like she’s trying to be noticed for who she’s with rather than who she is? That’s not what God wants. God desires and requires genuine friendship with you. Delight in that friendship with God. Walk with God as you would with your closest confidante. Walk through an autumn wood with no words required, or cry on a shoulder in the darkness of your night. Share your essence with your Creator — the one who made you and knows you best.
These are the job requirements. It is but for you to accept the position as a growing, acting Christian.
Thought for the day: From Ignatius of Loyola: “Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give and not count the cost; to fight and not heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward, except that of knowing that we do your will.”
Today, let’s join together in prayer, asking God, “Show me ways to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with You.”
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.