God's Requirement: Conversion of Life

2011-11-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

Micah 6

6 ‘With what shall I come before the Lord,
   and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
   with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
   with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God?

I find it strange that we want God to require that which is both complicated and simplistic. We want God to demand of us complex rituals and actions that once we learn their correct execution, God's love would have been earned. God rather requires the simple but complicated. Do that which you know to be just and bring forth justice. But how do I know what is just? Love mercy and kindness. Can't I just act kindly? Walk humbly with your God. Isn't it enough that I obey all the rules? God has told you, O mortal, what is good. Do not substitute the requirement of human acts for the conversion of life God requires. And do not do this to earn God's love but rather to celebrate the truth that it has already been freely given.

God's Requirements

God's Requirement: Conversion of Life