David Bahn – Reflections

Micah 6:8

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

I had the privilege of addressing some of the high school graduates last night at St. John. I shared three things that I wish I had known when I graduated from high school more than 40 years ago…

• There are people who are genuinely interested in your success; don’t take them for granted.
• You don’t have to make all your own mistakes; you can learn great lessons from others’ mistakes.
• You can take your faith with you into every part of your life; it’s not something just to put on the shelf.

Not bad lessons, I’m sure. Maybe someone will pick them up and benefit from that wisdom. More important, and profoundly wise, however, is this word from the prophet Micah. Here he outlines what we as God’s people should express in our daily lives if we are to take our faith with us.

• מִשְׁפָּט֙ Mishpat: Do justice.
• חֶ֔סֶד Hesed: Love kindness.
• וְהַצְנֵ֥עַ Hasnea: Walk humbly with your God.

It is in the doing of justice that we best reflect God’s work in our lives. Talk is cheap. Protesting is easy. Doing the just thing: not cheating on the test; respecting others’ rights, and not taking advantage of them. These are the doings of justice.

We are most powerful in the very best sense when we are kind. James says, “The anger of man does not bring about the good things that God desires.” How true! I might win an argument when I am fueled by the adrenaline of anger, but I’ll never win anyone’s heart that way. Kindness opens the door to peoples’ hearts and there in that sacred place we can most fully change someone’s life for the better.

We all have a tendency to want to run the universe according to our own whims and interests. Everyone has a moment when he thinks things are not the way things ought to be. But our vision is always limited – either by sin or physics. We don’t see the whole picture. We don’t understand all the nuances and dynamics of even our own life. To walk humbly with our God means we allow him to remain on the throne of our hearts, submitting to his will, and seeking the advancement of his kingdom.

We’ll never get it 100% right; there will be times when we are unjust, when our tempers get the better part of us, and we will rail against God. That’s where the truth of God’s justice becomes most precious. For there is One who embodied these three attributes fully. His name is Jesus and he did justice perfectly. He loved and embodied kindness. He walked all the way to the cross humbly with his God.

To embrace him means that we heed his call to follow him – especially in these three manifestations of our faith and love for him, receive his forgiveness when we fail, and do all we can to advance his kingdom’s cause by living in justice, kindness, and faith.