THANKFUL THURSDAY...justice and mercy

Today I was summoned to appear in court. Now before you get too excited and curious as to what law I broke, let me make this clear, I was only subpeoned to appear to testify as a witness in a car accident case.

Prior to having the civil suits called, the judge tried the criminal cases first. It was quite interesting to listen to each person pleading for mercy. In some cases, the judge was merciful while others, not so much.

 I guess it is difficult for judges to look past the 3rd and 4th repeat offenders. One particular case, a repeat offender, who seemed to have a habit of stealing and robbing, was sentenced to more time in jail. Apparently a final straw for this particular judge..."I'm going to take you off the streets before you rob all of us blind."

Was justice served? I don't know if it was for everyone today in that courtroom. But I do know that a different kind of justice and mercy is rendered from above, from the ultimate judge of us all.

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8

What a job description! The book of Micah spells it out for us. Chrstians are to be people who "do justice, love mercy and walk humbly" with God. We may be tempted to give ourselves a pat on the back because we are diligent to read our Bible daily, and pray earnestly, and attend church on a regular basis.

And all of these things are to be commended, but if that is all we do, are we any different than the Pharisees?

Pharisees read the Word and they attended church. But to be set apart from this, we must adhere to what God is saying here in Micah.

Treat others with God's standard of justice.
 In other words, do not cheat people, be honest, be fair, defend the defenseless.

Love mercy.
We all are thankful for the mercy of God upon us, but how often do we extend the same kind of mercy to others by way of giving to the poor, feeding someone who is hungry or clothing someone who is homeless? What mercy did we have upon those imprisoned? or those who have done us wrong? Mercy comes in alot of forms, not just in words but deeds as well and we are to LOVE doing it!

Walk humbly with God.
Humility is not seeking credit for yourself. Do some things in the background that make a difference but don't take credit for it. Give anonymously, not with just your money, but your time and talents too.

If you look closely, you will find that there are many people like those I saw in the courtroom today. People who need alittle love, acceptance, justice and most of all, mercy. I am so thankful that God exended all of that to me. Now, if only I could keep my eyes open long enough to spot those who need it from me.

Today I am hosting THANKFUL THURSDAY and above all things to be thankful for, God's Mercy is what I am so thankful for. Without it, I could never comprehend what the book of Micah is speaking of. May we all be encouraged to find justice and mercy in this adventure that we call life!

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