Day 200: Mercy & Obedience

2 Corinthians 4:1-5:10; 2 Kings 17; Micah 6

Paul reminds believers of the incredible hope that we have in Jesus. Despite the struggles here on earth, the physical pain and limitations, the yearning to be with Jesus, all of that is designed to teach us to rely on Christ. The things that we yearn for are unseen and so hope is so valuable. We trust God to do what he says and that is to take us to heaven one day and give us life and a living that will be so wonderful, it is beyond words. But until that time, we need to do our very best to please Jesus, despite the suffering and struggles and difficulties that we face. Those things will make heaven that much more amazing.

"The Lord had told the Israelites not to do the things that the foreign nations around them were doing, but Israel became just like them." God's people are meant to be different, live by different principles, set apart. Our lives should look drastically different from those who do not worship The Lord because we are guided by things such as love, grace, purity, and compassion. The Israelites disregarded the Lord's plan for their lives and traded it for the gods of other nations. There was no longer any holiness about the people and they infuriated God because of their disobedience and disrespect. If our lives look just like our neighbor's, who isn't a Christian, then we are doing something wrong. People should know because of our lifestyle, how we spend our money, the way we talk and what we talk about, that we are people of The Lord. And because of Israel's complete disregard for their status as God's chosen people, God decided to turn his back and let them get sucked into slavery by foreign nations. He was like, "Ok, you don't want me in your life? Then see what it is like as slaves to those gods you worshipped and people you emulated."

"They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves." Whatever we value and whatever we worship will shape our lives. If we worship money, all the decisions we make will be based on obtaining more and keeping as much as we can for ourselves. If we value our reputation, everything we do will be to seek to elevate it, regardless of what it takes. If we worship our family or relationships, we will sacrifice our own goals and well being for that of another person. But, if we worship The Lord, the one we were created to worship, he gives us such great value. We become what we worship. God is the only thing that can truly give us worth because money, reputation, family, relationships, those are all temporary. They are earthly things. God is eternal, he is unseen, and he is what will last forever.

One thing that I find interesting about this particular passage in 2 Kings is that the people of Israel DID worship The Lord. They didn't completely forget him. But it isn't enough to worship God sometimes and worship other stuff the rest of the time. That isn't true devotion and love and God won't work with that. He wants our whole heart.

Wow, this chapter in Micah is powerful. He asks, will sacrificing a thousand calves or rivers of oil be enough to make God pleased with me? Essentially, can I do or give enough to make God accept me? And he concludes: "See that mercy is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God." Wow, when you put it like that, it seems pretty simple. Show mercy to others and obey God.