“The Lord has told you, O mortal, 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?”
Micah 6:8

2004 is but a few days away and I am pondering what it holds in store for us: I ponder what will be the hope of 2004; I  ponder what will be the challenges of 2004; I ponder what will be the changes for 2004; and, I ponder God’s Presence in all of time. Then, I read this simple text. Micah 6:8 is but a page beyond the ‘text of promise’ recorded in Micah 5:2-5a, which announces that the One who is to come will come to Bethlehem, the town which is little among the clans of Judah.

Then humility becomes my pondering. I may wonder what may be in 2004, but I need not worry, for the days all belong to the Lord who made the heavens and the earth. It is the Lord who comes to meet our deepest desire and it is the Lord who will carry us safely home through whatever the future may hold. Ours is only to believe and to act in faithfulness, whatever the day or year.

“The Lord has told you, O mortal, 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?”

Does nearing a different year change our responsibility before God?

Do our resolutions reflect our acceptance of servant hood in God’s eyes

Do our hopes, plans and dreams name the justice, kindness, and humble walk to which we are called?

The Lord has told you, O mortal . . . the Lord has told us all what is required. I pray for all of humankind the strength of character, the integrity of spirit, and the honor of faithfulness in living the very Word of God, who is made flesh and dwells among us: His name is Doing Justice, Loving Kindness, and Walking Humbly With God. I pray in the nearness of every year that His name becomes the truth of our own naming as we live by God’s command.

                                                                   Have a blessed and faith-filled New Year!