Loving God, let the opportunities for the fullness of life be this dear reader's today and all days; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from the prophet Micah 6: 1 Listen now, listen to God: "Take your stand in court. If you have a complaint, tell the mountains; make your case to the hills. 2 And now, Mountains, hear God's case; listen, Jury Earth - For I am bringing charges against my people. I am building a case against Israel. 3 "Dear people, how have I done you wrong? Have I burdened you, worn you out? Answer! 4 I delivered you from a bad life in Egypt; I paid a good price to get you out of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you - and Aaron and Miriam to boot! 5 Remember what Balak king of Moab tried to pull, and how Balaam son of Beor turned the tables on him. Remember all those stories about Shittim and Gilgal. Keep all God's salvation stories fresh and present." 6 How can I stand up before God and show proper respect to the high God? Should I bring an armload of offerings topped off with yearling calves? 7 Would God be impressed with thousands of rams, with buckets and barrels of olive oil? Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child, my precious baby, to cancel my sin? 8 But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously - take God seriously. (The Message)
All the verses in this passage are important. But not as important as the last one, verse 8: "But (God's) already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously - take God seriously." The most important relationship in our lives is the one we should have with God. God should be at the center of our living and it should be God who guides our living. It's the core of the greatest commandment for Israel and for all who would call themselves Christians. And the second one, as Jesus stressed, is just as important, "love our neighbors as ourselves." What made it harder is how Jesus defined neighbor. He took it beyond the neighborhood and applied it to all people. Micah is hearing God say, in all our dealings we are to be fair with others; we are to be compassionate and loyal in our love. And for good measure he adds, "And don't take yourself too seriously - take God seriously."
If we are to put all of these texts for this week together, it is to make sense of life and of God. God shares through His Son, Jesus, what matters. We discover that we matter. It's an invitation to get right with God. It's also an invitation to get right with others after we get right with ourselves. So, dear reader, put away selfish and self-centered or even destructive thoughts about yourself. See how special and unique you are to God and see how that applies even to those who don't like or love you. You are the catalyst! Make the world a positive place, and the journey of life a gracious and wonderful one.
PRAYER: Loving God, I pray that what You share through Your Word would apply to me today. Let me know that my relationship with You is the most important one I can ever have, just as Your relationship with me is. Let me also seek to better my attitude and perception of myself so that the positive love You intended that I have for myself be applied to others. I ask this in Christ Jesus, my Lord and Savior and true model for life, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
