In sports, whenever you play at the same time as someone great, your accomplishments tend to go unnoticed. In basketball, for example, Karl Malone dominated for years, but as a contemporary of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, no one talks much about him even though his stats were often better. Same for every soccer player who played with Pelé or every business leader who led companies the same time as Donald Trump. Some people get all the press while others do great things without much recognition.
If you have ever suffered such injustice, Micah the prophet feels your pain. He was a contemporary of Isaiah the prophet, living and preaching in Israel around 500 BC. In fact, Micah's writings are so similar to Isaiah's that scholars disagree about who was more influenced by who. Some suggest both may have been influenced by an even more unfortunate third prophet who is now forgotten by history.
Although he is one of our more obscure prophets today, Micah was evidently not all that obscure during his time. He spoke boldly and did not pull any punches as he spoke to Israel on behalf of the Lord. One very famous passage is in Micah 6:8 where he boils it all down for the people of Israel and for us today many centuries later. He says, "This is what the Lord requires. That we act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord."
Today we will talk about the 2500-year-old challenge and ask whether the people of God are doing any better at meeting God’s "requirements". How much do we focus on justice and mercy and humility? Or are we sometimes known for being bullies (the opposite connotation of what "acting justly" implies), being hard line and being just a little bit arrogant about the fact that we "walk with God"? If we were truly convinced that justice and mercy and humility were at the top of God's list of things he wants to see, how would it change our daily "walk" with Him?
Mark
If you have ever suffered such injustice, Micah the prophet feels your pain. He was a contemporary of Isaiah the prophet, living and preaching in Israel around 500 BC. In fact, Micah's writings are so similar to Isaiah's that scholars disagree about who was more influenced by who. Some suggest both may have been influenced by an even more unfortunate third prophet who is now forgotten by history.
Although he is one of our more obscure prophets today, Micah was evidently not all that obscure during his time. He spoke boldly and did not pull any punches as he spoke to Israel on behalf of the Lord. One very famous passage is in Micah 6:8 where he boils it all down for the people of Israel and for us today many centuries later. He says, "This is what the Lord requires. That we act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord."
Today we will talk about the 2500-year-old challenge and ask whether the people of God are doing any better at meeting God’s "requirements". How much do we focus on justice and mercy and humility? Or are we sometimes known for being bullies (the opposite connotation of what "acting justly" implies), being hard line and being just a little bit arrogant about the fact that we "walk with God"? If we were truly convinced that justice and mercy and humility were at the top of God's list of things he wants to see, how would it change our daily "walk" with Him?
No comments:
Post a Comment