Stepping into the Light

Do you know what sacrifice God requires of you? When we don't understand what is expected of us in any area or situation we often flail about from one activity to another, in a frustrating attempt to hide our insecurity and lack of knowledge.

God has a habit of repeating Himself, and when He does we should pay attention. In the Biblical book of Micah, the prophet tells us three times to pay attention. The third time is in chapter 6, verse 1.

The rest of chapter 6 challenges me to think about the sins I've committed. What sacrifice can make clear my sorrow for my sins? Would ten thousand rivers of olive oil do the trick? Maybe sinners should sacrifice our firstborn children. Would that please the Lord?

No. He's told us what is good and what he requires: to do right, love mercy, and walk humbly (or faithfully) with Him. (Micah 6:8)

In Matthew 23:23-24, the same thought is expressed more sharply by Jesus. Here he tells us we're wasting our time obsessing over the law, figuratively straining gnats (the smallest levitically unclean animal) out of our drinks while swallowing camels (the largest unclean animal).

God wants you, you, you, not your legal expertise or flawless sanitation. He wants you to think like Him, act in ways that honor Him, and love Him as any innocent child loves a faithful parent.

When I was a child, I feared my father's condemnation even more than his punishment, so I tried to hide my shortcomings from him. I usually did very well in school with little effort, but in the eleventh grade I had a great deal of trouble understanding how to answer essay questions in my American History class. History happens to be one of my father's favorite subjects. I hid my struggle until my report card showed up, and then was forced to explain my trouble to my dad.

He sat down with me for hours to help me understand the material and what was required of me. My dad and I had a tension-filled relationship throughout my teens, but I still remember the sense of revelation I felt during that study session. "He loves me," I suddenly realized and my tears fell. After all the names I'd called him and awful rebellious thoughts I'd indulged, it was like a slap back to reality to see, "he loves me."

God loves us all like that. No matter what we've done or how far we've gone away from Him, all He wants is to help us get back on track. We can neither hide ourselves from Him nor impress Him with our money or our works. He wants us.

The tithes and offerings we bring, the dinners we cook, sermons we deliver, or services we attend are all things God expects, but they are only symbols of something that should be deeper, just as baptism is only a symbol of surrender to Jesus.

"To do right, to love mercy, to walk humbly with God" means to follow in His footsteps and to praise His name. This is the sacrifice He requires.