9-6-2024

Good Morning All,

    Micah 6:8; “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

     I am only human!!  How many times have we heard or said that?  Maybe you found yourself trying to be in two places at the same time or trying to get two things done at once.  Maybe you have been put in a situation which it is almost impossible for one person to achieve, and we say,” I am only human.

    Usually, we say this when we are caught in a moment of impropriety; a spouse who looked at an attractive member of the opposite sex a little too long.  Maybe someone dropped a bagful of change, and we picked some up and kept it; after all I’m only human.  Maybe the teacher left the test answers open on her desk while she talked to someone outside the classroom; I’m only human.  Maybe we’re in the boss’s office and he has the employee evaluations sitting there; one little peak I’m only human.

    We love that excuse because we think it gives us a pass on any failure or sin after all “I’m only human.”  The problem with that is that this statement isn’t quite truth.  When God created man, man was perfect and without sin.  Man was made in the image of God and was thus the image-bearer of God in creation.  To be human was to have the image of God.  After sin entered the world, the image of God was lost.  Sinners have stopped being human.  God defines what it means to be human.  We are to do justice.  That means we are to do everything in our power to see to it that justice is done.  If we know we are undercharged for an item, we should say so.  If we know that we have an extra calf in the pasture, we should say so.  If we see someone who is being oppressed or taken advantage of, we should say so.  We are to do justice.

    We are to love mercy.  We are to seek out every opportunity to show love to our fellow man.  We are not to avoid it; we don’t look the other way and then claim, “I didn’t see it after all I’m only human.” When we hear the cry of pain or the lament of sorrow, we are to love mercy and show it to our fellow man.

    We are to walk humbly before God.  We are to remember that God is God, and we are not.  We may not always understand why God does what he does but we are to trust in God’s mercy and look to what He has shown us.  God has shown us His love by the sending of Jesus to pay for our sins and to redeem us back from sin.  The love God shows us is so much more than we deserve that our response should be humble adoration and thanksgiving for what God has done.

     That is what it means to be only human.  If we really want to use that saying properly; next time we should say, “I’m only a sinner;” not as funny but more accurate.  We pray to be more human as God shapes us to be his disciples.

Gracious Lord, our lives are always empty as we fail to live up to your standards.  We are incapable of it, yet you love us anyway.  We thank you for your grace and tender mercies which are showered upon every day.  Make us to be human as You created us to be.  Call us as your people and keep us safe in your loving arms.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret