This Christmas, my wife gave me a ring as a gift. I’m not much of a jewelry person, but I have wanted one with a cross on it for some time now. When I received the ring, I noticed three words inscribed around the cross “JUSTICE MERCY HUMILITY” and the letters “MIC” on one side of the ring and the inscription “6:8” on the opposite. Lisa and I had not noticed this until we picked up the ring, as I had chosen it from several she showed me.
Intrigued, I realized the “MIC” stood for the book of Micah in the Old Testament, and “6:”8 but I thought I was unfamiliar with it, so I went to my bible to look it up. Much to my surprise, at some time during my bible studies over the years, I had highlighted and underlined that very verse. It reads “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
How amazing, that unknown to me, the one ring I chose would be bringing that question to my mind whenever I saw it or felt it’s weight on my finger. I never saw the inscription on it at the store, only when I finally received it and opened the box. So did I choose it or did the Holy Spirit? You think what you want, but I believe it was chosen for me, not by me.
Throughout my life I have seen the good and the bad in this world, the beautiful and the ugly, and for some time I allowed the bad experiences and the ugly sights to make up my mindset. But when I came to Christ, I began to realize this world is not the one God created, but the fallen world Genesis speaks about. A world that needs salvation to set things right with the Creator. Sin came into the world, but God allowed enough of the good to continue to exist for us to see it if we would just stop to look.
See, even though I’m no longer a public servant, I still serve the public. This time it’s not for a pay check. It’s because Jesus loved me enough to pay for me with His blood. Because He has shown me what is good, I need to know what God requires of me as His servant. It’s basically the same requirement as Jesus said, to love and treat others as you want for yourself and to love God with all your might and soul. My servitude is to tell others about what Christ did and the Gospel of His good news, to always treat everyone justly and mercifully (hence forgiveness) and to be humble to my Creator in all ways and all things.
Being a new creature in Christ, I know what is right and wrong, what is merciful and what isn’t, and I know that I can do nothing without Christ. Being human in a fallen world, sometimes I fail the tests set before me. But because they are tests, I can ask for forgiveness and learn from those failures. Isn’t that what tests are for, to see what we know or don’t know and are capable to do or not to do?
Tests show us our faults or lack of understanding so we can correct ourselves and move forward to the next set of instructions and tests. Where do we go for instruction? The Bible! Who is the author and instructor, God! Have I slept in class or not read my text book? Yes! Have I failed a test? Unfortunately many, but each is a learning experience and a message to go back to the Bible and find the answer.
It’s funny how God will work through many different ways to get our attention and test us. Was I given a ring as a test, or to remind me of something? It took me back to a verse I once thought important enough to mark, which once again does what it’s supposed to do, point me straight to Him.
What a wonderful gift a test can be!
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