And what does God require?

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Created on Thursday, 15 September 2011 18:12

Now announcing: JRLC's theme for Day on the Hill 2012!

And what does God require?

So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being... For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing.

- Deuteronomy 10: 12-13, 17-18

Many of you may recognize the similarities between this deuteromic text and Micah 6:8. Although Micah is a beautiful text, we were drawn to this passage in Deuteronomy for its all-encompassing definition of what it means to follow God's ways. 

In the imagination of the author of this text, followers of God are inspired by God's greatness, compelling them to "walk in all his ways". It's a commandment that sounds simple in concept, but is ever radicalized in the practical, lived-out experience of what God's love implies. "Loving the stranger" isn't to have soft, fuzzy feelings of mercy and humanity toward others, but to provide those in need with real solutions to their problems ("providing them with food and clothing"). And God's impartiality, which we are to mimic, is demonstrated by the execution of justice for orphans and widows, for whom justice is not always easily carried out in our world today.

So what does it mean to walk in God's ways, in this day and age? That's a question each person can only answer for herself or himself. But at Day on the Hill 2012, we will each try to address the question: And What Does God Require--of ME?!

On March 20, 2012, please join us.