Lenten Devotional - Thursday, Mar. 18

Day 26 - Thursday 

March 18

"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?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

    with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"

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?  Micah 6:6-8

During Lent, as we focus on repentance, often people will give up something for the duration of the season. We are reminded in this scripture passage, however, that God is not interested in having us offer up any sort of "sacrifice" for the purpose of either making up for our sins or for earning God's forgiveness. God has no need of anything that we can offer him, and God does not want to be appeased. Rather than sacrifice, what God really wants from us is our hearts, offered to him through obedience. To do justice, to love kindness, to walk humbly with our God - there are echoes here of the two greatest commandments expressed by Jesus, that we love God and love our neighbor. If we do these things, we will have obeyed all of the commandments.

To Do

Take a walk with God today. Ask God how you can do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with him in your life. Listen to God.