12月15日
標 題:祂已指示你
經 節:世人哪,耶和華已指示你何為善。祂向你所要的是什么呢?只要你行公義,好憐憫,存謙卑的心,與你的神同行。(彌迦書六章8節)
神永遠不會對我們隱瞞祂的期望,我們永遠不需猜想自己該如何過日子。當人尋求學習要討神歡喜,卻被誤導時,先知彌迦清楚地解釋什麼是神要我們做的事,什麼不是祂要我們做的事。人們問:我們是否應該預備許多祭禮?是否應該獻上千頭的公羊和萬萬的油河?如果我們獻上自己的長子給神,祂是否會喜悅(彌迦書六:6-7)?彌迦直截了當地回答:[世人哪!耶和華已指示你何為善。]
彌迦列出三件神所喜悅的事。首先,祂要我們行公義。單單渴望得到公義是不夠的,對人必須要完全公義。如果承諾別人,就要完全正直地持守承諾。如果手下有人為我們做工,我們一定要像耶穌一樣公平待他。我們在每一份人際關係上,都要行公義。
其次,我們要喜愛憐憫,瞭解自己本是不配,是由神那裡領受白白恩典,這是我們憐憫人的動機。我們要抵擋那種想以牙還牙的試探,要選擇以憐憫相待。
最後,神要我們謙卑地與祂同行。神沒有要求我們以驚人之舉來事奉祂——祂要我們謙卑。基督徒生活往往比該有的樣式複雜太多。我們可能不想明白自己對聖經的疑問,或不肯定基督是否會再來。我們可能會讓自己分心,不去做神今日對我們的指示。若能在基本的事上竭力順服,再複雜的任務也自會清楚明白。
He Has
Shown You
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? (Micah 6:8)
God
never conceals His expectations from us. We never have to guess how we should
live. In response to the misguided ways in which people sought to please God,
the prophet Micah clearly explained what God does and does not expect. The
people asked: Should we come to God with many offerings? Should we bring a
thousand rams and ten thousand rivers of oil? Would God be pleased if we gave
our firstborn child to Him to express our devotion? (Mic. 6:6–7). Micah’s
response was straightforward: “He has shown you, O man, what is good.”
Micah
listed three things God desires. First, He wants us to show justice. The desire
to receive justice is not enough. We must also be absolutely just in the way we
treat others. If we have given our word, we should keep it with complete integrity.
If we have people working for us, we should treat them as fairly as Jesus
would. We should act justly in every relationship.
Second,
we are to love mercy. The knowledge that we have received undeserved mercy from
God should motivate us to show mercy to others. We must resist the temptation
to retaliate against those who have wronged us, choosing to show them mercy
instead.
Finally,
God requires us to walk humbly with Him. God does not ask us for spectacular
acts of service—He asks for humility. At times we try to make the Christian
life far more complicated than it is. We may hide behind questions about the
Bible or uncertainty about the second coming of Christ. We can allow ourselves
to become distracted in order to avoid confronting what God has clearly told us
to do today. If we strive to be completely obedient in the basics, the more
complex assignments will become clear.