Micah

The prophet Micah taught that the Lord requires only three things of us: to do the right, to love goodness, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). At first glance this seems pretty simple, but not so fast!

To do the right thing demands a correctly formed conscience, discernment, and a willingness to put my needs and desires in second place. In these days of contentious discourse in the public sphere, there is much disagreement over what is the right. Discerning God’s will involves an ability to think in other than black and white terms, a willingness to engage the nuances and complexities of moral issues, a willingness to admit that I might not have all the answers.

Loving goodness also seems a no-brainer, but as with doing the right, we must beware of self-deception and projection. What seems right and good to us at times might not be the right or good thing for another.

To walk humbly with our God is a way for us to navigate the complexities of discerning what is right and good. To realize that God’s ways are not alway our ways, and that my calling is to be faithful to the call of Christ, and to realize that many of us are walking the same path, opens us up to seeing God’s presence in others and realizing that we are all one in Christ. What is right and good for us all demands a prayerful consideration of what it means to be part of the Body of Christ, for it is in and through this Body that we are saved.

“He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” (Psalm 50:23)

All images in this week’s post were from Cape May, NJ, a wonderful place to spend some time.