#Wordfortheweek Week 29 #Excellence (2)

‘He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you. but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.’  Micah 6:8 NKJV

Charles R. Swindon in his book, ‘A life well lived’, asked God in one of the best and worst seasons of his life; ‘What do you expect of me?’ He found his answer in Micah 6:8; ‘He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you. but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.’  

This encapsulates for me what a life of excellence entails;

v Doing what is right, irrespective of the circumstances and challenges. This forms the core of integrity and a virtuous character. Even when you are perceived as ‘holier’ than thou, looked down upon and ridiculed, you know that God approves and rewards your faithfulness.

v Loving and demonstrating kindness to all those that cross your path. Kindness requires us to empathise with others, show compassion, and have a forgiving heart. Cultivating a kind heart is a challenge, yet as Christians we are expected to love our neighbours as ourselves. No matter how cruel people treat us, we must not repay evil with evil.  We must remember that God will judge each of us individually by our actions. We won’t be able to give excuses. Let God be the judge of other people. I learnt so much from King David. He always reports people to God rather than take revenge. Our responsibility is always to show love and kindness.

v Walking humbly with God by submitting our self completely to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to teach and transform us inside out. We must be willing and ready to demonstrate humility in all areas of our lives. This requires us to see and treat others as we want to be treated or even better. We must learn to readily accept responsibility for our mistakes, never gloat when we are proved right, never demand our rights, accept constructive criticism, desire and learn to grow from our failures, listen more than be listened to and never respond to anger with anger.

All these might seem like a tall order, but a life of excellence is a process which we must strive for continuously all the days of our life. When we demonstrate these three qualities – justice, love and humility, not only would we bring pleasure to God, but the world would see qualities of excellence in us. And we would then be truly ‘light of the world’ and ‘salt of the earth’.

#Prayerfortheweek

May the Lord grant me the grace to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with my God.  In the name of Yeshua Jesus Christ. Amen

I pray that this inspires you to reflect on your relationship with Elohim and be determined to be more and do more for Him each day.

#AdeolaAkintoye©

#ajourneytospiritualmaturity2020