August 29 | Micah 6:8

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DAILY READING

Micah 6:8

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REFLECTION

Justice For All

By Jenny Raber

“…with liberty and justice for all.” The Pledge Of Allegiance ends with this beautiful charge for America. When the founders thought about how our country should be set apart, justice was paramount. Today, we still seek justice for all. Sometimes the fight for justice can be challenging, resulting in wars, protests, and political unrest. And, sometimes, the fight just seems …hopeless.

God shows us something different about justice. He shows us that justice is an act of love. Through the prophet Micah, God reminds the disobedient Israelites: "I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery." (Micah 6: 4) God didn’t just rescue the Israelites from 400 years of evil enslavement—He brought them out and redeemed them. This redemption meant that the Israelites were free, forgiven, justified, restored and adopted into God’s own family; they were loved. He then faithfully guided them to a future filled with provision, purpose, and hope.

We can be hopeful, too, because God gives us this same merciful justice, this same act of love, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 1:17 tells us “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed…” He sets us apart, even though, like the Israelites, we are often forgetful, sinful and disobedient. He loves us still. When we allow the magnitude of this gift to soak into our souls, we are filled with appreciation and gratitude.

Micah 6: 8 "…And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

When our neighbor kindly removed a fallen tree branch from our yard while on vacation, the first thing we wanted to do was give him a DoorDash gift card (He loves DoorDash!) to express our gratitude. God has given us these loving gifts of redemption and justice, and our first thought should be: how can we thank Him, how can we love him back? Micah tells us perfectly how to do that: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him. He tells us exactly what God loves! So, in gratitude, we imitate our Father by providing acts of love and justice to anyone who needs to be lifted up and restored; we share the Good News of the gospel; and we humbly meditate on each blessing God has provided us. We live a life of justice because justice is paramount to our God. And His justice is filled with hope and love.

PRAYER

Dear Merciful Father, we thank You for the loving gift of redemption and justice. We know that we, alone, are not worthy of these gifts, and yet, You bestow them upon us so generously. We pray that we may honor these gifts by leading a life of justice, mercy, and humility with Your guidance. We pray that in our every day lives, You help us to be a blessing to all others who need Your loving and kind justice—everyone from our own families, to our colleagues, to the strangers You bring before us. We pray that we keep our hearts connected to You, knowing that You are always there loving us. And we humbly give our hearts to Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JEN RABER

I am so grateful for the loving and welcoming community at UALC. My husband and I, along with our three (now adult) children began attending Lytham Road services around 2009. And before that, well, I’ve just loved the Bible for about as long as I can remember. I am so thrilled to be a part of the Daily Devotional Writing Team.