Thursday, March 15, 2012

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!

We want to hear what is on your grateful heart today, please join us by linking up below!




11 comments:

Joan Davis (Jo) said...

I love the verse you wrote on...Justice, mercy, humility! Those are beautiful, Christ-like qualities that are worthy goals for all of us! I am so thankful for the mercy that God has shown me!

Blessings, Joan

Cami said...

thank you for the fantastic reminder <3

Pia said...

i thank God for His mercy too. our God is so forgiving and so patient with us. He gives us second and third and fourth chances, even more than that. but although He is merciful, He is also just. i love God very much. He is so good. So good!

thanks for sharing this, laurie. made me think about how God is and appreciate Him all over again.

Denise said...

Wonderful post.

Denise said...

Wonderful post.

Tonya said...

I am so thankful that we have such a wonderful loving God.

Ms. Kathleen said...

This is so wonderful (and now the song is in my head - love that song!)... And it really causes me to think and my desire it to do just that - have a loving merciful heart and seek justice for all.

eph2810 said...

What a powerful statement, Laurie. It is humbling to know how much mercy the Lord is extending to me personally. I often mis-step, but He still grants His mercy.

Thank you for the reminder to extend mercy to others as we have received mercy from the Lord.

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Laurie for this important reminder. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments and feed His sheep, treating them not only fairly but with love and mercy.
Blessings,
Laurie Collett
http://savedbygracebiblestudy.blogspot.com/

jhunnelle said...

"Do justice" lately I've been thinking about this, the world seems a lot of injustices.

Your post reminds me of Isaiah 58 about what true fasting is all about. Fasting isn't only abstaining from food but it meant also doing justice, feeding the poor, etc.

Thank you for reminding us.

Alissa said...

Thanks so much for sharing! A friend shared your blog with me, and I'm so glad I stopped by. -