My store stands nearly empty There is little on the shelf Just an ounce or two of patience Though there’s several pounds of self
The old ceiling paint is peeling There are scratches on the floor But hope still welcomes people Just outside the open door
Though some say I should give up Yet a hope within me burns For I trust the owner’s promise That tomorrow He returns
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. Luke 12:37 ESV
Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.John 21:12 ESV
It is curious to me that like two bookends, the disciples’ experiences with Jesus were bracketed by two unlucky fishing trips. The first day with Him as well as the last, began with a morning meeting. In the first, (Luke 5:10), Jesus tells them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Then, for three and a half years, as they followed, Jesus taught them about heaven and showed them what it looked like, as He gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, and fed the crowds with only a few loaves of bread.
In the same way, Jesus calls us to follow and to fish for Him. But it does seem that a lot of our fishing, just like the disciples, looks like pulling in empty nets. But Jesus also taught about planting seeds, and He said that good seed in good soil would yield a good harvest. Now harvest time is great, but most of the year on a farm is not about picking apples, grapes, or corn. A farmer’s days are filled by waiting for seeds to germinate, watering them, and then pulling weeds. Yes, the corn gets taller, the apples grow larger, and grapes begin to fill the vines, but harvest time comes at the end, not the beginning of the season. But if we faithfully follow Jesus, casting nets and pulling weeds, our harvest or catch of fish will one day come. Though our labors may seem to be unrewarded, Jesus is working all night as well and He is waiting for our arrival. As Christians, our end comes not at night, but at dawn. So, listen, He is calling you, “Come my child, bring what you have caught, sit by my side and let’s have breakfast together in Heaven!”
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!
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