Reflection: Nothing in My Hand I Bring There is nothing you can do for God. Do you really believe that? Most of us have an instinct to try to please, to hope that we can earn the love of God through our deep-down goodness, our occasional benevolence, or perhaps some great act of sacrifice and service. That’s not the way it works. Micah gets it: God is after our hearts. He wants us to love like he loves. That means mingling justice and mercy, just as God has done for us. It means humbling ourselves before God’s will.
And it means walking with God, just as Adam and Eve did back in the Garden of Eden, alongside the great Lover as his wonderful plan for us unfolds. Coming to the Lord empty-handed is the only way to please him.
Question: Do you trust in your own innate goodness or your good works to please God? How can you wean yourself off this mistake? Can you humble yourself?
Prayer: Lord, I come before you with nothing. I throw myself on your mercy, and I ask you to align my heart with yours. Teach me how to love like you love.
We have been reading the Bible with Greg Clarke. Tomorrow we begin a new series, Alive & Active, with Katie Haldane.