Michah 6:8

Micah 6:8

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord
                require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness  and
                mercy, and to humble yourself  and  walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 AMP)
Loving kindness, mercy and walking humbly.

This doesn't actually sound like the world we live in.

We live in a world where we have to "make things happen" and "fight for what you want" and we are encouraged to be "go getters."  Maybe it's a little different in the UK but the USA is all about the moving and shaking.  Making your voice heard. Sometimes in our going and getting and moving and shaking, we can run over people.

Most of you know this scripture in Micah 6:8.  We had a song we used to sing with these words when I was in high school...a beautiful catchy song with an echo and I still love it.

I was sitting in church on Sunday when the confession was made and there are parts of the Anglican confession taken from this scripture. As soon as I heard it, the words went into my heart and spirit. I couldn't stop crying as we continued to worship.

A lot of things have been piercing my heart these days. As part of my sabbatical I decided to take my mornings with God. And God has His finger on various parts of my life. Sometimes it's just good fellowship and sometimes I feel like He is showing me more of my life that has to change.

He wants to transform me.

So I'm sitting in church weeping and it hits me. And as I have continued to meditate on this scripture, it keeps hitting me.

You see, I am not the most kind person you ever met.  I don't think that is the adjective people use most to describe me. It was not something I grew up with very much. Some of you are laughing because you know it's true. I don't have a gentle style.  I have an intense, challenging style, and my aim has always been to be authentic. However, I  have had a tendency, especially in the past, to be forceful or strong about my opinions.  Sometimes that is ok, but here's where I'm beginning to "get it" so to speak.

When I need to confront something that I see is wrong or not working well...I don't have to push my opinion or my will. Here's why.

God has called me to do what is right according to this scripture. That means that my example needs to be good. If I want to teach anyone the right way, I'd better be living it. I need to make my life a model. That means I don't respond in the same spirit as the rest. I can respond with truth and love even when I'm being mistreated. So my example must be right.

Secondly, I have to love mercy and kindness.  That means the manner in which I do what is right has to be loving and kind towards people.  It is all about helping other people grow into maturity, not about me winning an argument or proving my point. And God is not going to fall off the throne because I wasn't able to make people "see the light" so to speak. God has to move on people's hearts. I may be persuasive and I may win an argument but I may have either 1) lost the relationship or 2) not convinced the person in their hearts of what is true. So what would be the benefit of winning? I will have lost anyway.

Thirdly, I can walk in humility because I live my life before God.  I am free to serve others and to humble myself and my opinions and ideas before other men because I don't have to prove anything to anyone. And I am not responsible to make others see truth. I am responsible to God and to trust in Him that He will do it. I can humble myself because I know and trust God. And He is worthy of this behavior.  He is worthy of my service. He is worthy of my humility and so I can serve you in my desire to serve Him.  That's what He wants and He deserves it all. It becomes a much easier thing when I realize that in loving and humbling myself to you I am loving and humbling myself to Him.

Maybe you know all this but it felt like it went that much deeper into my heart this last week.

Do what is right-- be an example more than SAY what you think!

Love mercy-- be gracious, and compassionate towards people--it's not about you! It's about people growing and they are more likely to grow when we love them kindly!

Humble yourself before God-- He will make a way! He will do it. I can humble myself to the God who holds all things together. I don't have to protect myself or prove anything to any man. My God is with me.

This all equals FREEDOM.

I guess this is revolutionary because if we get a hold of this, we will have fewer church splits, fewer broken relationships, fewer offenses, and more unity as we grow together.  There  would be a lot less division if we could live Micah 6:8 and carry it around as a mantra.