Micah 6:6-8
When my brother and I were in elementary school, our allowance was $5 per week. That amount went up over time but the question at our dinner table remained the same: How were we going to give to Jesus that week?
One afternoon my five-year-old brother was in tears. He had been watching one of many television ads that asked for donations to help starving children around the world. He had to help! But his allowance wasn’t enough. He complained to our parents. How was he going to help other children his age if he was only given $5 per week? He demanded a raise! And he cried. My mother reassured him that we would find a way to help.
But she also said that it was important to remember that he had already taken the first step to living God’s way. He had chosen to be selfless, act justly, and give his whole heart to help others in need.
Micah asks a question that all God’s children are meant to ponder: what is the best gift we can give God? The prophet runs through a gift list, asking what specific offering God requires. In the end Micah assures us that there is not simply one perfect way to give, nor one perfect gift. What God longs for is the gift of our lives offered wholeheartedly: doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with the One we worship (v. 8).
Consider
Get to know your neighborhood better by exploring different routes to and from your home. Just as there are opportunities to help across the globe, there are also opportunities to do justice and love kindness in your area as well. There are countless ways to help those around us.
Pray
God, help us spend our days exploring the countless ways we could love you by helping others. Amen.