March 20, 2015 – Micah 6:8

O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8“Be Good now….”  How many times have I heard this admonition in my life — and how many more times should I have heard it?  Tell a two year old to be good, and you get the exact look I would give.  It falls in the same category as, “Try harder!”  Micah writes the ‘how’ of ‘Be good’.   He chooses three words — right, mercy and humility.  Right is experienced usually with some kind of pain; Mercy has to be experienced several times to know; and Humility.  When you think you have humility, you do not realize you have it.  And this is what God requires.In finding a bridge between these verses, I see that if we conquer, assimilate and live by the first verse, there is no need for swords and spears.  Nation will no longer fight against another nation or train for war.  There will be no divisive overtures among peoples or nations.This gathering of peace across the world begins with the Author of Peace.  Without the Great I Am, we are doomed to the clang of swords and spears and the cries of people everywhere, no matter what age.  When a person looks in a mirror and envisions himself a god, he begins a war around himself.Doing what is right, having mercy and walking humbly, wipes out the weapons of destruction.  In order for The Lord to mediate between us, we must first know him, hear him and believe.  First, the Lord’s mediation begins within the hearts of each of us.  Who will be first to hear and believe?  Who will be first to live in peace and prosperity with nothing to fear?The LORD will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has made this promise! Micah 4:3-4