"laestadian, apostolic, gay, lgbtq, ex-oalc, ex-llc, llc, oalc, bunner" LEARNING TO LIVE FREE: I Bow to the Truth That is in You

Monday, February 07, 2005

I Bow to the Truth That is in You

micahverse

Recently the children made collages by tracing their hands and feet on paper. They were learning the verse from Micah:

"Do justice . . . love mercy . . . walk humbly with your God." Isn't this one of the loveliest bits of the Hebrew scriptures?

I put their collages in the kitchen where they can inspire me while preparing dinner or washing up. Little hands symbolize justice, little feet a humble walk, and the paper hearts, love of mercy. As a recipe, it's as simple as boiling pasta. Wish it was that easy to live.

In the OALC, I was raised to focus on the last part only: humility. But what is it to walk humbly? Is it to focus inwardly (on one's unworthiness), or to act outwardly, with compassion toward others? Is it to "rebuke" and "find fault" or to "give of one's own godliness" through acts of mercy and kindness?

(This is not only a Christian concept. The Dalai Lama says that by practicing compassion we create happiness and peace in ourselves.)

What a different world it would be if, when we greeted each other with "How are you?" or "God's Peace" or "Salaam" or "Namaste" or "Sat Nam" -- our hands and feet and hearts echoed our words.

2 comments:

  1. Do you ever wonder if people speak so much about humility because they are trying to convince themselves?

    I was told by someone that they have never seen a group of people so proud of being humble.

    I am not sure a picture of humility is condemning everyone else as dead faith and not Christian.

    I love that verse. My kids learned it in VBS one year... I think it is the message of Christ in a nutshell.
    He has shown you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. -Micah 6:8

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  2. I learned very few Bible verses as a child. Sunday school was a drag.

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