A Norvell Note Vol. 20 No. 39 | October 1, 2018
“To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.__
How much time do we spend every day either trying to please people, being afraid we aren’t pleasing them, or being told we didn’t?
Some of us will spend our entire lives trying to gain approval- from our parents, employer, spouse, or friend. We work long hours, give elaborate gifts, and often ignore our own needs in this never-ending battle for recognition.
It becomes exhausting, jumping through hoop after frustrating hoop, hungering to hear the magic words: “I’m proud of you, son”, “You look beautiful, sweetheart”, or “Great work today”.
Unfortunately, similar longings reside in the hearts of many regarding our relationship with God.
Many of us have been taught from the beginning that pleasing God is only possible by working harder, doing more… making sure we’ve jumped through all the hoops. So, like the parent we’ve tried so hard to please, we do everything possible to prove our worth.
As we see in the Old Testament, this quest to please God is nothing new.
Will
the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Then, comes the wonderful news of what the Lord wants of us.
He has shown you, O mortal, 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. (Micah 6:7-9, NIV)
There is no long list of rules to follow and no expectations to be perfect. See, as it turns out, God never intended for us to live in fear of not doing enough to make it to heaven.
He just asks that we act justly, love mercifully, and to walk humbly…no hoops required.
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