homeschooled By GOD – Lesson Ten: the Requirements
Lessons Learned in the Classroom of Life
new YEAR, new YOU
January 24th, 2022
Psalm 40:1-3, ‘I waited and waited, and waited some more, for God. At last, He looked; finally, He listened. He lifted me out of the ditch (the slimy pit), pulled me from deep mud. He stood me on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn’t slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.’
LESSON TEN: the Requirements
So, Professor God showed up to homeschool me one day, and He told me I have, and, really, all of mankind has, a tendency to make it way too difficult. He taught me we spend a lot of wasted time doing things which seldom matter. Things such as making sure our language is superfluous; our actions pious; beautifying ourselves so we look good; gaining useless knowledge; fighting for worthless causes; wasting precious moments on empty endeavors, eventually drowning in a pool of regret.
So, I asked Him then, what is it that isn’t worthless, that is instead worthy and righteous, that is significant and required of me. “Three things,” He replied. “Three things are required of you, but they won’t be what you think,” He said.
“I don’t care how you speak; although I desire for you to speak life-giving words. I don’t care how you look and act; however, I placed my Son inside of you and you are His image-bearer, so I desire you to act pleasing in my sight, represent well, be filled with light so it pours out of your fractures. I desire you not to have regrets nor waste time that can never be returned to you. But all of that is insignificant compared to these three things.”
He said, “What is required of you is to do justly, which means to accomplish, act or achieve that which is honorable, decent, equal, equitable and fair. To love mercy which means to cherish, choose, adore, and devote yourself to forgiveness, grace, clemency, forbearance, leniency, and favor toward those I came to redeem. To walk humbly with Me which means to move, advance, or make passage in all ways meek, obscure, submissive, modest, not proud or arrogant, subservient.”
I realized then I do make the Christian walk a lot more complicated than is necessary. The simple version is to live decently and treat others as I desire myself to be treated. The lesson doesn’t get any easier than that, does it?
Micah 6:8, ‘He has shown you, o man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?’
