I had a vague memory of this cartoon before I searched and found it again. I can’t remember when I saw it first, but it speaks volumes to the spirit of students and Christian disciples. Our Gospel reading from last Sunday, Mark 10 about the rich young man, had him expressing the same sort of desire to access (and be responsible for) the the bare minimum required for spiritual success, for eternal life.
What we find in this coming Sunday’s text, Micah 6:1-8, is our Lord graciously willing to answer that sort of minimal requirement question, just as Jesus was willing to answer it when asked about which is the greatest commandment. And the answer is the same, what God requires, the bare minimum expected of human beings, is to love God and love our neighbors. Micah’s words in verse 8 are, “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”
Notice though, that the question about “what’s going to be on the final,” gets posed in the hope and expectation that the answer will be something rather straightforward and doable, even if it’s difficult. When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment or what is necessary for eternal life, the subtext of the question is the same as is stated explicitly in verses 6 and 7 of Micah 6. Micah lists possible strategies for pleasing God, from simple offerings commanded by the Law to extremes of “thousands of rams” or “ten thousand rivers of oil.” The final extreme is the sacrifice of a first-born child.
What’s hoped in Micah’s extreme examples is that there is a simple, doable transaction which can be deliberately and completely carried out, “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” Just tell us what we have to know and we will learn it. Just tell us what we have to do and we will do it. The answer to such questions is both easier and simpler and more difficult and complex. What God wants is for everyone of us to enter into a relationship of love with Him and with each other. And relationships take more than payment to be healthy, no matter how great the payment is.
We all know this. Simply giving things to or doing things for your spouse is not enough if you don’t really care how he or she feels, don’t really want to spend time together, don’t really enjoy being united in your marriage. Micah reminds us that it’s the same way with God. There’s no formula of prayer, Bible reading, tithing and church attendance which is going to produce a loving relationship with God, no matter how extreme your devotion. It’s not that those spiritual disciplines are unimportant, it’s that only the harder, longer road of being together with Him and with others and learning to really care about what God cares about will meet the requirement.
The trouble with an earnest relationship is that both people have to want it. It seems like most people are too busy to earnestly seek after God.
very helpful to put this in the context of family living. how often we need to remind ourselves we are in a long walk together, a walk that requires mercy and humility, and letting God deal with the justice as much as possible. i wish i had been more merciful and humble with my family. great to remind us no matter how attentive we are to the biblical rules, we must still hope for divine help in the many, many times we must improvise.