DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- WALKING HUMBLY WITH GOD

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – WALKING HUMBLY WITH GOD

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)

What does it look like to walk with God? Micah posed this question when he asked, "With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the High God?" (vs. 6). In other words, what do I need to do to make myself acceptable to God?

In the verses preceding our text, Micah gave some suggestions for pleasing God. "Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"(verses 6-7). In effect, God says, "No! That's not what I want. I want more than just external expressions of worship. What I desire are things of the heart – for you to live justly, with mercy, and humility."

Religion gives lists of outward things to do. Do this. Don't do that. Here are ten things you need to do. But here's the truth. I can't keep the list of rules and regulations. Adam and Eve couldn't even keep one simple rule, and it kept them from walking with God in the cool of the evening. If that's the case, how can I keep a whole bunch of duties and obligations that religion says I need to keep?

I can't keep all the rules, and even if I could there is no guarantee that God will accept me. So there is only one thing left to do – to humbly throw myself on God's mercy. That's what Peter said. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time" (I Peter 5:5-6). Jesus said that the people who are poor in spirit will inherit the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:4). God is not impressed with all my great acts of devotion, no matter how large or impressive they are. What does move His heart is when I affirm His justice by the way I live, when I love His mercy, and then humbly walk with Him. These are matters of the heart – not external forms of worship. God looks on the heart.

I want to be like Enoch, of whom the Scripture says, "And Enoch walked with God" (Genesis 5:24).

Love, Dad