Micah 6:8 reveals the second character quality of a life well lived: kindness—a quality often expressed in mercy or forgiveness. Few things catch the attention or remain in the memory more than acts of unmerited kindness, but it sometimes seems that everything around us works to block those acts. Of all the biblical examples of amazing acts of kindness, Joseph's treatment of his brothers may shine the brightest.
In Micah 6:8, the bold prophet answered the question many people wonder about today: What does the Lord expect of us? Micah's answer is comprehensive: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. The first of these three expectations means to do what is right, regardless of the consequences. This kind of courageous obedience is illustrated for us in the lives of the first-century apostles.
The last stage of marriage is that period of time when the nest is empty—either empty of the children or of one of the mates—or both. This is a critical stage in the home. All sorts of strange and unpredictable feelings transpire, and we find ourselves in need of stabilizing thoughts and direction.
Today, Christians ask themselves and fellow Christians “What would Jesus do?” when confronted with a situation in which they don't know what to do. I don't believe it is a good question for us to ask and here's why.
Death is one of the greatest fears in life! Many people would do anything to escape it. But there it is, refusing to go away. When pain, suffering, and death threatened Job, he asked, “If a man dies, will he live again?” (Job 14:14). Job didn’t ask whether or not a person will rise from the dead at the end of time, but whether or not he or she will continue to live, even though his or her body waits in the grave.
Everybody gets older whether you admit it or not. The question is, “Will we grow sweeter, or will we rot?” Once all the children have left the nest and two people who honeymooned together 25 or 30 years ago are left to “start over,” how can they resist negative tendencies and stay young at heart? How can they support one another's growth toward spiritual maturity?
Conflict per se isn't necessarily bad. But when conflict is rooted in sin and self-centredness, or resolved in sinful ways then it will be unhealthy and destructive.
In a world where marriage is under attack by pressures outside and inside the Christian church, God’s people cannot abdicate. We have a responsibility to ourselves, to our world, and to our God to stand strong in our marital commitment.
Every which way you turn, the culture, through the ever-present media, launches a new attack on our dedication to the biblical view of marriage. How can Christian marriages survive such onslaughts? Only through commitment. The good old-fashioned hard work of sticking it out!
Like giant containers of volatile gas, money must be managed with great care. Because most of us don’t have more than we need, we must be wise and faithful with what we have. No home can escape the clutches of coin and currency—so we must learn how to implement wise policies of earning, giving, spending, saving, investing, and borrowing.
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