We Have Been Told...

~~~ Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 ~~~ Psalm 50 ~~~ Matthew 12:38-42 ~~~

You have been told, O man, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.

God gives clear directions and guidelines.
He may speak in unfamiliar tones, but he always speaks to the point.
Today we are told...
to do right...to love goodness...
and to walk with God in humility.

There in the presence of God we must walk;
not in a prideful boastful manner,
but in humility.
There is nothing good in our life that we can solely lay claim to;
everything comes from above.
God tells what is good. Goodness is found in how much we love.
The more we love the more goodness we will have in our life.

God reserves the right to correct us when we have gone astray.
Sometimes as we look out upon the lack of goodness
 in our world we feel God must execute his correction sooner.

We grow impatient with God's correction of others,
but do not see where we ourselves need his correction.

God used Jonah, although reluctantly,
to send his corrective message of repentance.

Every party involved responded with resistance.
Jonah did not want to deliver God's message.
The people of Nineveh did not want to hear God's message.

If God were to suggest a similar situation today
I dare say the responses would be no different.

People still reject both the messenger and the message.

We struggle with God's corrective message of repentance.
We try to postpone taking action on the message
 even after it is delivered.

Jonah was willing to remain in the belly of the fish for three days and nights.
He let the sun rise and set on his hard headed stubbornness.

I think we probably do the same thing...
We let our stubbornness keep us from realizing God
 holds the necessary corrections for us to enter into heaven.

Jonah foolishly thought he could hide from God.
He thought he could ignore God.
He tried to turn his back on God, but nothing
 he did sent God away.

God does not and will not ever turn his back on you.
We can pretend to ignore and attempt to resist,
but God is there in every way.
Blessings of Peace.