As today began on the other side of the world, there was a solar eclipse. Tonight's moon will be what star-gazers call a Supermoon, which means the moon will be as close to the earth as it ever gets. All this is happening on the Spring Equinox, 2015. Signs in the heavens! We can observe those and know that our great God, who created this universe we can hardly fathom, is in total control. But, I digress...
I promised yesterday we'd look at Micah 6:6-8.
6With what shall I come to the LORD
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
7Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Before Christ came, part of the Law that God handed down to the Israelites dictated that animal sacrifices be made. However, that old problem of "the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law" was at work then as it is today. In order to "do their duty", people would outwardly obey the Law, even though their hearts were far from God.
Isaiah, whom you may recall from yesterday was a contemporary of Micah's, shared a similar word in Isaiah 29:13 - - - (Jesus quoted these words in Matthew 15:8.)
The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught."
"Going through the motions", we might call it, to "get in good with God". Is that what the resplendent walk of Christian discipleship is all about? No. But, that is what Micah is saying was going on in his day, and it is what in large part goes on today. Let's break it down.
The late Keith Green, one of my favorite Christians of the 1970s and '80s, wrote a song called, "To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice". The song was inspired by this passage in Micah. Here are some of the lyrics: "I don't want your money; I want your life. I want more than Sundays and Wednesday nights."
So, okay, we "get" that we are not supposed to merely go through the motions of Christian living - - - going to church, serving in some way, giving our resources. All of these "sacrifices" can demonstrate a devotion to God flowing from a righteous foundation; or, they can be mere rule-following. All of those "good works" are meaningless to God, unless first He has our hearts. The foundation of a real and resplendent Christian walk is a person's heart relationship with God. That's what "do justice" means in Micah 6:8. Having a heart right with God through faith in Him was, in the O.T. and is today, the bedrock of "godly living".
It is through our giving of our hearts to Jesus Christ that we, in this New Testament era, "do justice" because it is through Christ's finished work on our behalf that we can become "just" - - - right with God. It is the only way we can become right with God. J.C. Chambers called this "inward religion".
I was talking with a friend a few days ago about a loved one who has not made that transformative decision to accept God's way to righteousness through Christ. The hindrance is that he is such a "good man", by the world's standards. However, how "good" is "good enough"? None of our efforts measure up, according to God's standard. Andy Stanley wrote a little book, (a booklet, really) a few years ago entitled, Since Nobody's Perfect, How Good is Good Enough? I recommend it as a tool for those enslaved in this mentality of trying to "work" one's way to God.
Once our relationship with God is right and just, what are the other two attributes mentioned in this passage? They are kindness (or mercy) and humility, (or what Chambers calls "outward religion").
You may, like I do, know some people whose hearts are full of mercy for others. These friends have such compassion for others; they long to help others who are in dire need, at every opportunity. Bless them! Those Christians have been given the spiritual gift of mercy by the Holy Spirit. But, to some of us (me included), this merciful attitude and those merciful actions do not "come easily". In my flesh, my "natural" (carnal) response is to say, "You got yourself into this mess, Buddy. Now, you get yourself out." Thank God He did not have such a sanctimonious, self-righteous attitude toward us! Otherwise, He would not have sent His Son, Jesus. And, let's look at Jesus, who was full of mercy for the most needy. The people He rebuked were those (Pharisees, religious leaders) who were gods to themselves, who did not know God or desire to follow Him. All of us Christians, whether we have an "extra helping", the spiritual gift of mercy, are called by God to show mercy.
How can we show mercy today?
1. By meeting immediate physical needs.
A hungry or cold or sick or desperate person is in no condition to hear the gospel until his or her more immediate physical needs have been met. This is why Jesus spoke about "giving a cup of cold water in my Name" (Matthew 10:42; 25:34-40)
2. By sharing the truth of the gospel.
We do no one any merciful favors by neglecting to tell them the truth. It is not merciful to show approval to sinful behaviors or lifestyle choices. It is not kind to allow people to die and go to Hell. Believe me, when they are in Hell for all eternity, they will wish someone had "stepped on their toes" or "hurt their feelings" in this life. That is not to advocate bludgeoning people with the truth. We should always be in an attitude of prayer as to how the Spirit wants us to share with others. But, we also must not shrink from this because of our fears of rejection.
It is difficult to love mercy if one's heart is proud. That is why these two requirements go hand-in-hand. To "walk humbly with your God" ... this is the resplendent walk, Y'all! But, it is so hard!! Spiritual pride is a pit into which many Christians fall. Because we are light-bearers we are prone to hoard that light because of a lack of mercy toward those who are enslaved in sin. The key to walking in humility is to have a broken heart - - - a heart that is broken over the lostness of others and also broken over our own ongoing sin battles. This is the humble heart that can share the life-saving gospel with a lost and dying world.
Dear Holy Father, we need more of You. Whether we are already Yours or whether we are "lost as last year's Easter egg", or whether we even know it or not ... we are spiritually bankrupt, starving for Your love, Your truth. If in our pride and hardness of heart we believe otherwise, we are deceived. Please reveal to each of us the areas in which we need to become right with You and Your holy standard of righteousness. Break our hearts for what breaks Yours, Loving Savior. In Jesus' name, amen.
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