Mic 6:6-8 “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? (7) Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (8) 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?

One of the misassumptions of the Christian faith is that if we do more or act better then God will accept us. Many believe that our salvation is predicated on our behavior rather than the grace of God himself. Micah, in these verses, is speaking in such exaggerations to prove his message that there is nothing that we can do or sacrifice that will make us right before the the Lord.

Shall we offer burnt offerings, a thousand rams, our first born child? What can we offer God to satisfy the sin in our life?

God doesn’t want our rituals and our sacrifices, he desires a relationship with us. He wants our obedience to flow from a heart that desires communion with him and not because we are bound by the law. Micah says that we should desire justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. Rather than sacrifices that are physical, God desires the pure attitudes of our heart.

Today I reflect on the Lord Jesus Christ. Micah was preparing the people to seek God with a heart that was pure in preparation for the One sacrifice that was to come. The sacrifice Jesus made can not be outdone. There is nothing I can say or do that will cause God to love me or accept me more than to simply put my trust in the sacrifice Christ has already done.

Lord, help me to keep your sacrifice on the cross in mind when I try way to hard to be accepted by you. Thank you for giving me eternal life through your Son Jesus. Amen…