"What do you want from me?!?"

"‘With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’ He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

A few years ago a friend of mine (who's an avid reader) turned me on to a little-known book called Ready Player One. I devoured it! It's fabulous. (And Steven Spielberg's bringing it to the Silver Screen in 2018!) It centers around an epic quest set up by the creator of a virtual reality world called OASIS. The creator was fascinated with the 1980's, so every quest had something to do with TV, film, movies, video games, or pop culture from that decade. (Have I mentioned how amazing this story is?!?)

Sometimes it seems like following God is similar to a scavenger hunt or an epic quest. We're not exactly sure what God wants from us, so we try this or that, hoping God will be pleased with our endeavors, and look on with favor.

And then we read a passage like Micah 6...

"With what shall I come before the LORD and bow myself before God on high?" What is it, exactly, that God wants, the author asks? Burnt offerings? Calves? Rams? And how many, exactly? Dozens? Thousands? What about costly oil offerings? As much as a river-full? And what about my first-born? (Some religious groups in the Ancient Near East actually practiced infanticide!!!)

No. The answer is simple. "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."

DO JUSTICE... Do what's right, yes. But look for those who've been cast aside by others. Help those who've experienced excruciating loss. Defend those who've been taken advantage of. Protect the environment.

LOVE KINDNESS... Be good to one another. Show kindness an mercy in all that you do. To everyone. EVERYONE!

WALK HUMBLY WITH GOD... Don't be a jerk about your faith. Follow God as a faithful disciple, and don't condemn those who aren't on your same path.

So maybe it IS an epic quest after all?!? But one we all can accomplish!