The prophet Micah asks the profound question we all must ask. “With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?”
Then he goes on and lists many things he could bring … burnt offerings of calves a year old, thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil. He even wonders if he should offer his firstborn for his sins and transgressions, hyperbole for the most extreme offering imaginable.
None of that is what the Lord requires of us, and Micah goes on to admit that. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” [Mic 6:6-8 NIV]
Justice, Mercy, Humility. I am reminded that if we strive to act justly in this unjust world, and walk in humility amid the proud and arrogant, we are certainly going to need to LOVE MERCY! Mercy is God’s loving kindness and favor toward us that we also show toward others.
I must love and cling to God’s mercy for me because there is nothing resident in me, apart from His mercy, that will enable me to be just and humble. It doesn’t take much more than one long line in a grocery when I don’t feel well to prove that I need a constant infilling of God’s mercy.
Father, fill me anew with Your mercy so that I might also show Your loving kindness and favor to others. Amen.
