You don’t have to be “good.”
Growing up, I was that kid who made sure adults liked me. I would go out of the way to please the adults in my life, because I wanted to make sure that I got the good and positive attention. And listen, it worked most of the time. But then I grew up and realized, that those kids (read: me) are just as flawed as everyone else. Big time flawed.
Micah, in his song here, drops some huge names. Abraham and Jacob, to an Israelite, are big stars. Every Hebrew person reading or hearing this immediately conjured up the stories they would have known about these two giants of their history. They were revered and venerated and mentioned alongside names like Moses and Joseph. Micah knows that the stories of these two men’s lives were filled with great deeds, big moves, and following God into crazy places. But also, these two people were deeply flawed. Abraham had a lying and faith problem. Jacob also was deeply deceptive and faithless at times.
But even though they were not “good” people all the time, Micah knew the stories, and saw God’s faithfulness continue. Micah starts out this passage glorifying God’s deep commitment to forgiveness. God is not a God that holds onto His anger, but delights in mercy and compassion. Abraham and Jacob would not have been the people they were if it wasn’t for God’s character of mercy, compassion, and forgiveness.
Even though we as God-followers are called to a higher standard, we are also inexplicably called to be fine with not being “good.” If these two men (and many other founders of our faith) were shown faithfulness, goodness, forgiveness, and love, we too can rely on that from our Creator. And why is that? Because our goodness is not based in our character, but in Christ’s. When we stand before God, it is Christ who perfects us, not anything we do ourselves. So let go of that pursuit of being that “good” kid, and pursue a God who perfects us by simply being who He is.
For Reflection:
- Recall a time when you strived to be “good” even though the intentions were less than good. How did it work out?
- In what areas of your life do you live that way now? How can you let the God of compassion, faithfulness, and love rescue you? What can help you trust in his character for your goodness rather than yours?
Nativity Building Activity: Bring your sheep figures close to the shepherd figures. The shepherds were keeping watch at night when they heard the news about Baby Jesus!
by Nic Fridenmaker
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