Eternity

The Only Way to God’s House

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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? Micah 6:8 ESV

With yesterday being both the remembrance of September 11th, along with the shock of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, it feels as if we are in crisis mode. In this mind-set, the “Fight or Flight” reaction seems to set in with most of us. Should we be drawing inward for safety and reflection or demanding justice and fighting?” I have found today’s verse both short and to the point. The people of Israel were also in a crisis. Their nation, which had begun as God’s Promised Land was now politically divided between Judah in the South and the kingdom of Israel in the North. Rather than getting along, they had just finished fighting a long and bloody war with each other, while the empire of Assyria was on the doorstep of them both. On top of all the military and political problems the people faced, many of them had turned away from God and were worshipping the idols of the nations around them. Then add to that mix, the intrigue and corruption within the palace and you begin to get a picture of a life that was not all that different from today. Stepping up to the microphone in the middle of this turmoil, the prophet Micah didn’t mince words. He called the people to repentance and to turn back to their God, who had brought them out of slavery, given them a beautiful land and blessed, rescued and helped them over and over. His message wasn’t complicated. God was calling them to more than just returning to certain religious practices and showing up at the temple during the holidays. What God asked was a return to living out “what is good,” in their personal relationships, families and homes. He summed up his message in three words: Justice, Mercy and Humility.

Now, justice, mercy and humility may not be at the top of the bucket list items for our culture, but they are for God, and He gives them to us, not as three separate goals but as a package deal. He knows that often our demands for justice ring out, without an equal call for mercy. But justice without mercy gives us neither, and mercy without justice is an invitation for selfishness to rule the day. But when both justice and mercy follow us all the days of our lives, then God walks with us through the valley of the shadow, sets a table before us in the wilderness and leads us to His own home, where He promises we may live with Him forever!

The Least Important Thing

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And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall diligently teach them to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ESV

Though I am retired, I continue to manage a large farm, which has been converted into a weekend rental. Among my duties is paying the various contractors, one of whom is a young mailman named Jesse, who along with his wife, clean the place in their spare time after work. The many hours they put in, remind me of myself at their age. Back then, with two teenage boys at home, a mortgage, and a car payment, it seemed we were always short on money. But looking back now some 50 years later, I now realize that the least important thing I did during that time was to make money.

I am not saying that working or paying bills doesn’t matter. In fact, we learn in the Bible that before Adam sinned, and even before God created Eve, Adam had a job. You are probably shouting right now. “What job was that?” Now, if you are wondering, about Adam’s entry level job, it was to name the animals that God brought them to Him. Maybe Adam started with Aardvark, and worked his way through the dolphins, lions, and whales, as one by one, Adam named thousands of animals. Finally, he was so exhausted that he fell into a deep sleep and while he rested, God created Eve. Yes, work is good and a gift from God, but sometimes we begin to juggle a growing collection of tasks in the way that a circus performer sends plates spinning on a variety of different sticks. It is all very impressive until the moment that they all come crashing down. Often the crash that we hear in our lives is the sound of a door slamming shut behind a close friend, a lonely teenager, or an angry wife, who have felt ignored, abandoned, or undervalued. We have forgotten God’s command to not just rush back and forth to church on Sundays and then hurry on to our next activity. God calls us to take time to talk about His words and find ways to weave them into our everyday lives. Those words which created planets, formed the glaciers and waterfalls are more than simply lines to be remembered: they are holy and pure and above all they are words that give us life. Have God’s words stirred your heart today? Then, pause for moment, bow your head in prayer and remember that what matters most of all is that God loved us and sent His only Son, so that we could spend all eternity with Him!

Don’t Miss the Adventure!

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Just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many that they may be saved. 1 Corinthians 1:10:33 ESV

Do you ever struggle with wondering who to trust in a world in which we are constantly being bombarded by junk mail, telephone solicitors or even neighbors trying to sell us stuff? As I have grown older, I have developed the tendency of being skeptical of almost everyone. But then I remember Melissa. She was the daughter of one of our friends at church. When she was just about thirteen, Melissa caught me one day just as we were leaving church. “So, Mr. Caligiuri, how are you today?” she asked flashing what seemed like a sincere smile. Now I liked all the Newell kids, but I knew that something was up, so I asked her in return, “That depends on how much it’s going to cost me” “Weeeeeell,” she confessed with a sheepish grin. “If you buy a box of candy from this catalogue it will help me to go to youth camp!”

Now, you might think that she was taking advantage of our families’ friendship, but today I am delighted that I bought that candy because she not only made it to youth camp, but she and her husband now serve as missionaries in Japan. They also have a couple of sweet little girls who I bet can sell all the candy they can get their hands on! Too often we miss opportunities to bless others because we build walls to protect ourselves from everyone. But choosing to always play it safe means missing the adventure of opening our hearts in ways that reap eternal rewards, both for us and for people we may never meet on this side of eternity!